Summary
On Sunday, 27 August 2023, a Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by Jet2.com, registration G-DRTW, experienced a fuel-related incident during approach to Palma de Mallorca Airport (Balearic Islands, Spain). The aircraft was arriving from Glasgow Airport (UK) and landed with 1115 kg of final reserve fuel, which was 44 kg below the regulatory final reserve. The flight had been delayed on departure due to adverse weather, and the crew had loaded additional fuel in anticipation of further delays.
Sequence of Events
The aircraft was scheduled for two return flights between Glasgow and Palma de Mallorca. The crew initiated their activity with the first flight, callsign EXS5AB. Take-off from Glasgow occurred at 07:54 UTC. By 09:34, Palma was not accepting traffic and the Mass Diversion Plan (PDM) was activated. The aircraft entered French airspace and subsequently flew four holding patterns over the Pyrenees. At 10:07, the destination was changed to Menorca, but later the aircraft was redirected back to Palma after it reopened. After a further 53 minutes of additional flight time, the crew declared MAYDAY for fuel at 11:12 UTC, approximately 20 NM from touchdown. The aircraft landed at 11:20 UTC. All 187 passengers and 6 crew members were unharmed.
Meteorological Conditions
The Balearic Islands were affected by particularly poor weather conditions that simultaneously impacted all three airports in the archipelago, making operations impossible. Around 09:00 UTC, a rate 0 (no arrivals or departures) was established. The adverse weather also caused a knock-on effect on Barcelona ACC airspace, where aircraft began to accumulate.
ATC Services
The investigation examined the operation of ATC services. It found that the CCC sector of ACC Barcelona and collateral sectors of ACC Bordeaux experienced excessive workload due to the weather conditions. Additionally, there was an error in the alternate airport entered in the aircraft's flight plan while in French airspace. The overload of air traffic controllers and the inefficiency of ATFM measures implemented during the tactical phase were noted as contributing factors.
Conclusion
The investigation established that the probable cause of the incident was an excessive workload in the CCC sector of ACC Barcelona and in the collateral sectors of ACC Bordeaux as a consequence of the weather conditions in the Balearic Islands, as well as an error in the alternate airport entered in the aircraft's flight plan while in French airspace. Probable contributory factors included the overload of air traffic controllers, the inefficiency of ATFM measures, and the complexity of managing a huge deviation when two dependencies were affected. No safety recommendations were issued.