A nationwide disruption has gripped New Zealand’s fuel industry, affecting all major brands, due to a software malfunction attributed to the leap year’s occurrence on February 29.
New Zealand: On Thursday, self-service petrol pumps throughout New Zealand ceased operations, leaving motorists stranded, as several companies reported a leap year “software glitch.”
In the capital city of Wellington, numerous stations opted to close entirely, resulting in empty forecourts and bewildered customers encountering signs bearing the message “Nationwide Payment Outage – Site Unavailable.”
Julien Leys, spokesperson for petrol chain Gull, stated, “It is a nationwide issue affecting all fuel brands and it does appear to be a software glitch with the payment provider because it is Feb 29 — a leap year.”
Allied Petroleum, a competitor of Gull, reported a similar issue but noted that “manned service stations (forecourts with a shop on site)” were gradually resuming operations.
Expressing regret to customers, Z acknowledged the inconvenience, stating, “(We) want to reassure you that we are working closely with our third-party payment provider to resolve this issue as quickly as possible.”
