This happened to my son last year when he flew LBA to Dalaman & was told it was because the air carrier had no fuel credit left at LBA so had to stop off in Belguim to refuel, might have been the same case for you.

There might be a number of reasons, such a shorter runway length means the aircraft must be lighter, and can carry less fuel, and thus have to refuel.

Strangely enough many years ago coming back from Lanzarote, a delay on the flight meant that we were able to take off 'in the other direction' which meant that we no longer had to stop and refuel somewhere strange, thus saving about 2 hours overall.

adj27,

That does seem rather strange. Who did you fly with? The aircraft is more than capable of making the flight non-stop and the runway at ACE is plenty big enough to allow it. There may have been climb performance issues (there's a big hill to climb on departure!) so if the aircraft was heavily loaded with baggage / cargo, less fuel and a fuel stop may have been chosen rather than off-loading luggage / cargo. Weather, ie hot temperatures could be a contributing factor as could a strong head-wind onroute.

Travelling Sam wrote:

a delay on the flight meant that we were able to take off 'in the other direction'

That would be weather related, ie the wind direction changed so you took off on the reciprical runway.

Darren

hi dazbo

when we stopped at faro the steward told me they stopped for fuel in faro aswell after leaving manchester at 6.30am yesterday and then again with us on the return leg to manchester, the actual delay was only 45mins overall but its just puzzling we flew with xl going but flew from newcastle and the return like i say was to manchester, they where both a320's but the flight back was not xl it was la charter (air malta?? ) wasnt expecting that either, like i said flight was fine didn't seem like there was any problems just a shortage on fuel, could it be cheaper in portugal

dazbo the flight number was KM 6407VY dont know if that helps i cant find any info on this flight.

plus the flight wasn't even full there was loads of empty seats i doubt it was weather related too has it happened both ways. i was just wondering thats all

adj27,

That would be Lat Air Charter who are subbing for Air Malta over the summer using YL-LCC. 45 mins is about right for a 'splash and dash'. I'm not sure what's going on then, I've not heard anything. Something is certainly strange though. They may have a contract for fuel with a different supplier so stop in Portugal. If I hear anything, I'll let you know.

EDIT: A photo of your aircraft on a gloomy day in Manchester



Darren

I remember about 11 years ago on our return from Tenerife our home flight was delayed.

The reason given by Sabre Airways was that they were short of fuel so had to divert into Faro on the outbound sector.

It was a rather antiquated Boeing 737-200 though so I'm not sure if the range was limited compared to more modern aircraft?

Mark

Mark757,

There's a big difference in range / performance between those aircraft. The 737-200 has a range between 1900-2300nm, the A320-200 has a range of 2615-3045nm (depending on engine types and weights, bearing in mind the A320 is also a larger aircraft with more seats). MAN-ACE is 1780nm so the margins are much tighter for the 737-200.

Darren

Hi thanks for the replys guys i was just curious as it never happened before and ive flown that route about 9 times now!

Thanks again

Andy

At Lanzarote take off weight is severely restricted on the north easterly runway. You need at least 10kts of headwind to be able to take off on that runway and be able to make Manchester. Take off weight is restricted by the high ground to the north east of the runway. Add to that a headwind on the return to the UK and you will have to refuel en route. Sometimes you can take enough fuel by accepting the tailwind on he south westerly runway but, after about 5kts, you are no better placed than going with the headwind on the other runway.

hi busdriver there is only one runway at ace do you mean take off in the oposite direction away from the large mountains you see when see departing north on the runway, any case it makes sense what your saying but would you have the same problem taking off from manchester and heading south (they refuelled on the outbound journey at faro aswell) towards lanzarote tis a puzzling one on me and weight wasn't the issue i think because it was by no way a full plane unless it was carrying heavy cargo of some sort of course.

Thanks

Andy

Are you an airbus driver by any chance?

Yes, that is what I meant. Take off in the opposite direction away from the hills. Unusual to have to stop outbound from Manchester; could have been something that resulted in a lower flight level (and hence a higher fuel burn) than planned.

adj27,

There aren't any terrain issues at Manchester so climb performance isn't an issue like it is at ACE. Runways can be used in both directions so even though there is only one runway, it has two designations, one for either end based on its bearing. eg 03 and 21 in the case of ACE.

Darren

Maybe they are trying to get cheper fuel like the rest of us!
Dont tell Gordon though or they will be getting a tax duty evasion notice through!

Any cost savings in fuel would be offset by the landing charges at the en route stop. As I said above the main problem is the high ground to the north east of the airfield. With a 10mph wind from the North East the take off weight is limited (A320) to about 70,000kgs. Taking off in the other direction (with no wind effect- tailwind reduces the take off weight allowed) the take off weight allowed would be in the region of 77,000kgs. To get back to the UK with anything like a full load then the take off weight will be about 75,000kgs. So, if the wind is from the north east, there is always a chance of a stop on the way home.

This post tells us that all airlines should have bought Boeing 757s. I love flying on these great planes.

happend to me twice once on a 737 and also on a 727 both times landing in Porto.
Both times with differing airlines its was put down to head winds.

This topic has been edited to remove recent unnecessary, immature and offensive posts.

As the original enquiry had already been answered, I will now close the topic.

David