Queenstown International Airport ran out of jet fuel last Friday, affecting two flights.
A Virgin Australia flight to Melbourne was cancelled and a Virgin Australia flight to Sydney was delayed by a few hours until fuel arrived from Cromwell.
BP Oil New Zealand communications specialist Gordon Gillan said: ''An unexpected spike in demand coupled with a logistics issue caused a short-term fuel stock availability issue.
''We would like to apologise for any inconvenience.
''We have worked closely with our logistics partner and the airlines ... and don't expect any further issues.''
Queenstown man Geoff Cotton, who was waiting to fly to Sydney for a funeral the next day, called the situation ''a shambles''.
''People were just laughing when they said they were waiting for the truck to come from Cromwell.''
It is thought the Melbourne flight was cancelled because the pilots would have exceeded their flying hours for the day.
-By Philip Chandler
