LGT ENCOUNTERS STRONGER THAN FORECAST HEADWINDS. DECLARES MINIMUM FUEL; CTLR DECLARES EMER.

Narrative

FLT SXM-EWR. DEPARTED SXM ABOUT 5 HRS LATE DUE TO LATE ARR AND MAINT DELAY. ACFT WAS AT MAX GROSS TKOF (ALLOWABLE) WITH PLANNED FUEL ON ARR IN EWR OF 8200 LBS; NO ALTERNATE REQUIRED. DUE ACFT BEING ABOUT 3000 LBS LESS THAN THE FLT PLAN WT AND ENRTE WINDS BEING 30-40 KTS DIFFERENT THAN FORECAST; FUEL BURN WAS 900 LBS GREATER THAN FLT PLANNED AFTER 3 HRS. ABOUT 200 MI FROM NY; WE WERE GIVEN ABOUT A 45 MIN HOLDING DELAY. WE DETERMINED WE COULD HOLD FOR ABOUT 5 MINS. PRIOR TO REACHING THE HOLDING FIX; WE REQUESTED TO DIVERT TO ACY. AFTER DOING A 360 DEG TURN PER ATC'S REQUEST; WE WERE CLRED DIRECT TO ACY TO CROSS 25 MI E AT 8000. DURING THE DSCNT; ABOUT 60 MI E OF ACY; WE WERE HANDED OFF TO A DIFFERENT NY CTLR. WE WERE GREETED BY HIM SAYING HE COULD GET US RIGHT INTO EWR. WE ACCEPTED CLRNC TO EWR. WE WERE DSNDED TO 7000 FT ABOUT 60 MI E OF RBV. THERE WERE STRONG HEADWINDS ENRTE TO RBV. WE ARRIVED OVER RBV WITH ABOUT 7000 LBS. APCH CTL IMMEDIATELY SLOWED TO 210 KTS AND GAVE US A SPACING VECTOR TO THE W; EWR WAS USING 22L; 22R WAS CLOSED DUE TO LACK OF SNOW REMOVAL FROM THE STORM FROM MAR XX. APCH TOLD US TO EXPECT ABOUT 20-25 MINS OF FLT TIME TO LNDG WITH 10-20 MI SPACING. WE DETERMINED THAT THIS WAS UNACCEPTABLE AND DECLARED MINIMUM FUEL. THE APCH CTLR DECLARED AN EMER FOR OUR FLT DUE TO OUR MINIMUM FUEL STATUS. WE WERE GIVEN PRIORITY HANDLING. LNDG WAS UNEVENTFUL. WE BLOCKED IN WITH 4520 LBS AT THE GATE. IN RETROSPECT; WE SHOULD HAVE PROCEEDED WITH OUR DIVERT TO ACY AND NOT LISTENED TO CTR AS FAR AS GETTING US RIGHT INTO EWR WITH NO DELAYS; OR FUEL-STOPPED IN BDA; OR TAKEN LESS PAX FOR MORE FUEL. ADDITIONALLY; THERE SHOULD BE BETTER COM BTWN CTR AND APCH CTL DURING MINIMUM FUEL SIT AS PLTS NORMALLY BASE DECISIONS ON BY-THE-MIN INFO.