A new gas crisis hit Jeddah in the first days of Eid Al-Fitr. A number of gas outlets that sell gas cylinders closed their doors due to lack of supplies to meet the demand during the Eid holiday.

The problem is not new. Jeddawis have become reluctantly accustomed to shortages in gas cylinders during Ramadan and other peak times.

Gas distributors told local media that such a crisis should prompt the governorate’s authorities to intervene. “Officials at the governorate should directly interfere to find an immediate solution for the problem,” said Fahed Ba-Ajaj, a gas distributor.

He added that the company had poor excuses for the distributors to explain the lack of gas. They said their machinery was out of order, or that supplies from Aramco did not arrive. “Many times the gas company said the shortages were due to the traffic plan of the Jeddah Traffic Department. This prohibited the movement of trucks on the city’s street during traffic peak times.

The gas company does not develop precautionary plans for times of crises, or peak seasons such as Eid and holidays,” added the gas distributor.

Last Wednesday for example, he said, the company received 52 trucks demanding to provide them with supplies for distribution afterwards, but productions levels were poor and could not meet the demand.

Another gas outlet owner at Safa neighborhood, Muhammad Al-Jaradi, said the crisis had already existed since the first day of Ramadan.