Petrol stations in the United Kingdom have been forced to close following a nationwide shortage of Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) drivers left without supplies.
British Petroleum Company plc said on Thursday, September 23, 2021, that up to 100 of its forecourts were short of at least one grade of fuel, with several forced to close entirely because of a lack of deliveries.
According to Esso a petrol and diesel service station, a handful of its petrol stations operating alongside Tesco Express stores were affected, while some of the supermarket chain’s own-branded sites were also suffering outages.
Queues formed at some petrol stations in London and Kent on Friday as motorists rushed to fill up.
Some petrol stations in the UK have been forced to close after the nationwide shortage of HGV drivers left forecourts without supplies.
As queues started forming outside filling stations early on Saturday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office said it was looking at temporary measures to address the shortage of heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers.
The UK government was set to introduce a temporary easing of visa restrictions for foreign truck drivers as consumer fuel supplies run low, local media reported on Saturday.
British newspapers said that Downing Street would go back on a previous pledge and offer up to 5,000 short-term visas for drivers of heavy goods vehicles (HGV). The decision was set to come into effect to avoid disruptions during the busy period in the run-up to Christmas.
Shortages of delivery drivers have left some gas stations rationing supplies for consumers. Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic are considered to be the main cause behind the current situation.
“We’re looking at temporary measures to avoid any immediate problems, but any measures we introduce will be very strictly time limited,” a spokeswoman for Johnson’s Downing Street office said in a statement.
