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View all search resultsWorsening fuel shortages lead to kilometers-long lines at North Sumatra gas stations
In Langkat regency, lines stretched about 13 kilometers from a gas station in Wampu to another in Tanjung Pura, trapping thousands of private cars, intercity buses and logistics trucks for hours. Some vehicles broke down after running out of fuel while waiting in line.
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Motorists queue to buy Pertalite gasoline at a gas station in Medan, North Sumatra, Thursday, July 16, 2026. PT Pertamina Patra Niaga is working to ease long queues by extending operating hours to 24 hours and deploying 30 additional fuel tanker trucks to distribute fuel to several gas stations across North Sumatra. (Antara/Yudi Manar)
F
uel shortages that have gripped North Sumatra in the past week worsened on Thursday despite state energy firm Pertamina's assurances that supplies had returned to normal, with thousands of vehicles waiting for kilometers at gas stations across the province.
Long lines were reported at several filling stations, with vehicles forming multiple rows and causing traffic congestion. In Langkat regency, lines stretched about 13 kilometers from a gas station in Wampu to another in Tanjung Pura, trapping thousands of private cars, intercity buses and logistics trucks for hours. Some vehicles broke down after running out of fuel while waiting in line.
Several roads were also unusually quiet as motorists avoided traveling amid the shortage.
Misno Adi, a resident of Langkat, said he had twice tried to buy fuel at a local gas station on Thursday but left empty-handed both times.
"I started queuing before dawn and waited for more than three hours, but the station had no fuel. I went home and returned after supplies were replenished, waited another two hours, and when there were only two cars ahead of me, the attendants said they had run out of fuel again," Adi told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
Adi said he was frustrated after spending hours in line without securing fuel, adding that he had never experienced queues this long before. He questioned Pertamina's handling of the week-long shortages and rejected the company's claim that fuel distribution had returned to normal.
"That is simply not true. People are still lining up for fuel today," he said.
