AFI 11-253: MANAGING PURCHASES OF AVIATION FUEL AND GROUND SERVICES

AFI 11-253 — index record

Number	AFI 11-253
Title	MANAGING PURCHASES OF AVIATION FUEL AND GROUND SERVICES
Published	December 16, 2025
Certified current	December 16, 2025
Office of primary responsibility	AF/A3
Issued by	Headquarters, Department of the Air Force
Status on the index	Current
Last index action	Rewrite, December 16, 2025
Source index	Air Force e-Publishing
Index last read	October 20, 2026

Copied from Air Force e-Publishing (index). The publication itself is the authority; this page does not summarize or interpret it. Verify the current edition on the index before acting.

From the publication itself

Text below is lifted mechanically from the official PDF (35 pages, read October 20, 2026) with no editing or interpretation. Quote the document, not this page.

Purpose, in the publication’s words

This publication implements Air Force Policy Directive (AFPD) 11-2, Aircrew Operations. It establishes accountability requirements for purchase and sale of into-plane aviation fuel and off- station authorized ancillary ground services, establishes the United States (US) Air Force Aviation Into-plane Reimbursement (AIR) Card program, and provides procedures for AIR Card® management and use. This publication applies to all civilian employees, uniformed members of the Regular Air Force, the Air Force Reserve, the Air National Guard, and those who are contractually obligated to comply with Department of the Air Force publications. Failure to obey paragraph 7.5 constitutes a violation of Article 92(1), UCMJ—failure to obey lawful order or regulation. Article 92(1) of the UCMJ does not apply to members of the ANG while in Title 32 status (that is, activated for state duty under state command), but ANG members may be subject to an equivalent article under a state military justice code. This publication does not apply to the

Summary of changes, as printed

This document has been substantially revised and needs to be completely reviewed. Major changes include reformatted chapters, expanded and updated roles and responsibilities, precedence of fuel and authorized ground services purchases and implementation of procedures to meet Financial Improvement and Audit Readiness goals.

Chapter 1—PROGRAM OVERVIEWp. 5
Chapter 2—ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIESp. 8
Chapter 3—AIR CARD® MANAGEMENTp. 23
Chapter 4—AIR CARD® USAGEp. 26
Chapter 5—PRIORITY FOR FUEL RESOURCESp. 28
Chapter 6—DOCUMENTING REFUELING TRANSACTIONSp. 30
Attachment 1—GLOSSARY OF REFERENCES AND SUPPORTING INFORMATIONp. 38
Attachment 2—PROCEDURES FOR CASH PAYMENTS FOR AVIATION FUELp. 43
Attachment 4—MONTHLY VALIDATION MEMORANDUM TEMPLATEp. 48

All 71 contents entries

Chapter 1—PROGRAM OVERVIEWp. 5
1.1. Overviewp. 5
1.2. Applicabilityp. 5
1.3. Scopep. 5
1.4. Program Structurep. 5
1.5. AIR Card® Program Hierarchyp. 5
1.6. Waiversp. 6
Chapter 2—ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIESp. 8
2.1. Deputy Chief of Staff of Operations (AF/A3)p. 8
2.2. Director of Maintenance (AF/A4L)p. 8
2.3. Air Force Accounting Policy and Operations (SAF/FMFO)p. 8
2.4. Director of Current Operations and Readiness (AF/A33)p. 8
2.5. Readiness Division (AF/A33R)p. 8
2.6. MAJCOMsp. 10
2.7. MAJCOM APCp. 11
2.8. Centralized Asset Management (AFMC/FMM)p. 12
2.9. AF Petroleum Agency (AFPA)p. 12
2.10. Air Operations Center (AOC)/Mission Planning Cellsp. 12
2.11. Wing Commander (or Equivalent)p. 13
2.12. Deployed Wing or Stand-Alone Group Commandersp. 14
2.13. Geographically Separated Units (GSU)p. 14
2.14. Operations Group Commander or Equivalentp. 15
2.15. Maintenance Group Commander or Equivalentp. 16
2.16. Accountable Officialp. 16
2.17. Wing Comptroller Squadron or Servicing Financial Management Officep. 19
2.18. Level 5 Certifying Officialp. 20
2.19. Resource Advisorp. 21
2.20. Pilot in Command (PIC) or Aircraft Commander (AC)p. 21
2.21. AIR Card® Usersp. 21
Chapter 3—AIR CARD® MANAGEMENTp. 23
3.1. Opening New Accountsp. 23
3.2. Re-missioned Unitp. 23
3.3. AIR Card® Payment and Aviation Fuel Reconciliation Processesp. 23
3.4. New or Replacement Cardsp. 24
3.5. AIR Card® Transfersp. 24
3.6. Any Aircraft AIR Card®p. 24
3.7. Closing Active Accountsp. 25
3.8. Account Suspensionp. 25
Chapter 4—AIR CARD® USAGEp. 26
4.1. AIR Cards®p. 26
4.2. AIR Card® Usersp. 26
4.3. Authorized Products and Servicesp. 26
4.4. Unauthorized Card Usagep. 26
4.5. Price Reasonableness Reviewp. 27
Chapter 5—PRIORITY FOR FUEL RESOURCESp. 28
5.1. Prioritized Fueling Sourcesp. 28
5.2. Other Foreign Government Supportp. 28
5.3. Fuels Exchange Agreement (FEA)p. 28
5.4. Offset Billing Agreementsp. 28
5.5. Direct Bill Agreementsp. 28
5.6. Multinational Agreementsp. 29
5.7. Into-Plane Contractsp. 29
Chapter 6—DOCUMENTING REFUELING TRANSACTIONSp. 30
6.1. Documenting Refueling Transactionsp. 30
6.2. Standard Refuelsp. 30
6.3. In-Flight Refuelingp. 31
6.4. Aircraft Transfersp. 31
6.5. Depot Possessed Aircraftp. 32
6.6. New Production Aircraftp. 32
6.7. Retiring Aircraftp. 33
6.8. Deployed Aircraftp. 34
6.9. Destroyed Aircraftp. 34
7.1. Transaction Disputesp. 35
7.2. Corrective Actions at Time of Deliveryp. 35
7.3. AIR Card® Fuel Charge Formal Disputesp. 35
7.4. Delinquent Account Proceduresp. 36
7.5. Disciplinary Guidancep. 36
7.6. Suspected Fraudp. 37
Attachment 1—GLOSSARY OF REFERENCES AND SUPPORTING INFORMATIONp. 38
Attachment 2—PROCEDURES FOR CASH PAYMENTS FOR AVIATION FUELp. 43
Attachment 4—MONTHLY VALIDATION MEMORANDUM TEMPLATEp. 48

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AFI 11-253

AFI 11-253 — index record

From the publication itself

Purpose, in the publication’s words

Summary of changes, as printed

Contents

Other AFI publications nearby in the series