JERUSALEM — Most flights out of Israel’s international airport were grounded Thursday as a safety precaution after the airport’s fuel supply was found to be tainted, Israeli officials said.
The officials insisted that passengers were never in any danger, although Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz said that a number of airplanes had already been filled with the suspect fuel and had to be emptied.
Contaminated jet fuel can cause significant damage to aircraft and their engines.
Mr. Katz, who described the situation as “grave,” said that “there was a malfunction in the process, a malfunction that has been dealt with.”
Paz Oil Company Ltd., one of two main providers of jet fuel to Ben-Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, said in a statement that an unidentified oily substance had built up on the filters of the fuel terminals at the airport, and there were concerns that it could filter into the fuel tanks of airplanes.
Emergency fuel supplies were brought to the airport in tankers from outside depots, and by early Friday, planes were departing for nearby airports, like Cyprus, where they could refuel.
Mr. Katz said that the Israeli military had been asked to provide logistical support.
The National Infrastructure Ministry was setting up a committee to investigate the cause of the problem. There was no immediate suggestion of sabotage.
Flights out of Israel were grounded for several hours in 2005 after the fuel supply was found not to meet international standards.
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