A Ryanair Boeing 737 carrying 177 people came close to running out of fuel during a flight between Pisa and Prestwick, near Glasgow, on October 3, 2025. When it finally made an emergency landing in Manchester, it only had 343 kilos of kerosene left, enough to fly for just nine minutes.
In its report, the British Air Accident Investigation Authority (AAIB) describes the event as a “serious incident”. The remaining fuel quantity was well below the minimum safety reserve.
However, the crew had taken precautions by taking on board more fuel in order to anticipate possible diversions. But violent gusts transformed the flight into a real journey.
Three aborted landings
Arriving at Prestwick, the Boeing had to abort a first approach after an alert signaling a sudden change in wind likely to affect its lift. A second attempt ended with the same result.
In accordance with Ryanair procedures, the crew then requested to be diverted to Manchester, where the weather was more favorable. But this first request was refused. The pilots therefore headed for Edinburgh, where a new alert forced them to abandon the landing for a third time.
There were then only 2,164 kilos of fuel left. The crew calculated that upon reaching Manchester, the plane would land with only 500 to 700 kilos, well below the minimum set at 1101 kilos. The pilots therefore declared an emergency and immediately obtained permission to fly to Manchester.
The Boeing finally landed safely at 8:51 p.m. In the event of another failed approach, the pilots estimated that they would have only had three minutes of additional fuel.
According to the AAIB, the initial refusal to divert the aircraft to Manchester played a decisive role in the incident. Investigators were unable to establish why this request was rejected and point to communication problems within the airport control services.
