Airport road closures as LA flight runs low on fuel

A fuel mayday from United Airlines triggered a major emergency at Sydney Airport yesterday.

Passengers unable to leave a United flight diverted to Canberra in 2014.

A fuel mayday from United Airlines that triggered a major emergency at Sydney Airport yesterday morning was the second time the US carrier has been caught short in 12 months.

As flight UA839 came into land in Sydney from Los Angeles, the aircrew was faced with the prospect of a long holding pattern due to heavy rain.

With fuel starting to run low on the Boeing 787-9, the pilots alerted air traffic control they would need to land earlier than specified and a “fuel mayday” was issued to move them to the front of the queue.

That triggered a full emergency response, involving road closures outside the airport to provide a clear passage for fire, police and ambulance vehicles.

An Airservices Australia spokeswoman said a “level three full emergency response” was standard procedure when such an aircraft declared a mayday.

United Airlines also declared a low fuel emergency in Melbourne this year, when air traffic control informed the crew of a 30-minute holding requirement.

Civil Aviation Safety Authority spokesman Peter Gibson said the intention of the fuel mayday was to make sure everyone was clear that a particular aircraft needed to land as soon as possible. “It’s nothing more than that,” Mr Gibson said.

He said the United Airlines’ flight still had about 40-minutes worth of fuel when it landed.

United Airlines’ spokesman Madhu Unnikrishnan attributed the incident to a “mechanical issue” and said they were continuing to investigate.

United Airlines came under fire in 2014, for only carrying enough fuel to divert to Canberra Airport from Sydney, 55-minutes away. On that occasion, passengers and crew were forced to remain in the aircraft for four hours without food or sanitation, because there were no immigration facilities available.

The ATSB was yesterday still considering an investigation.