Incident Overview
On 23 February 2019, a Boeing 737-800 aircraft, registration SP-RSF, operated a flight from Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport (EPGD) to London Stansted Airport (EGSS). The flight proceeded normally until the aircraft entered the London Terminal Control Area (TMA). There, the crew received an Expected Approach Time (EAT) indicating a 30-minute delay and entered holding at waypoint ABBOT, considering a diversion to Birmingham Airport (EGBB). The EAT was later extended by an additional 10 minutes.
Crew Actions and Decision
The flight crew analyzed weather conditions at alternate airports and found them worse than forecast. The captain attempted to contact Air Traffic Control (ATC) for information on the expected holding duration but was unsuccessful due to heavy radio traffic from other aircraft.
Observing improving weather at London Stansted, with Runway Visual Range (RVR) increasing from 600 m to 800 m, and noting that other aircraft were landing without issues, the crew decided to proceed to the destination. They declared "MINIMUM FUEL" to ATC, indicating that fuel had reached a level where landing at the declared airport was necessary and any further delay could result in landing below planned final reserve fuel.
However, the investigation established that at the time of the declaration, the aircraft still had over 1000 kg of fuel above the final reserve. The crew was not in an emergency situation; the minimum fuel call was a notification that an emergency could arise with additional delay, but the actual fuel state did not warrant such a declaration.
Cause of the Incident
The cause of the incident was an unjustified declaration of minimum fuel to ATC, made when the subsequent EAT did not reduce fuel to a level approaching the final reserve.
Contributing Factor
A contributing factor was the difficulty in communicating with ATC due to increased radio traffic in the London TMA.
Safety Actions
The investigating entity discussed with the crew the applicable procedures regarding minimum and emergency fuel declarations. No safety recommendations were issued.