Narrative:

Enroute approximately 45 minutes prior to arrival; ATC re-cleared us [to avoid weather]. We loaded the FMC and saw that this re-routed us nearly 150 miles to the east of destination. When queried; ATC advised us it was due to weather moving into the area that was going to shut down the northern arrivals corridor. At this point; there was a large area of intense convective activity to our north; which we had flown around. Shortly after; ATC advised us to hold with an efc of approximately 30 minutes. At this point; the captain and I discussed our fuel status and agreed that we could only hold for about 15 minutes. We advised dispatch via ACARS of our hold clearance. Entering the hold; ATC advised us that all arrivals and departures had completely shut down due to thunderstorms over the airport; and we could expect one hour or more of holding. At this point captain and I agreed that we needed to immediately plan for a diversion to an alternate. However; contacting dispatch (both by ACARS and radio) was extremely challenging at this point due to radio congestion (including a medical emergency on another flight) and several other diversions that dispatch was handling. We considered alternates in the area; however upon examination of the charts on the aircraft; we discovered that some charts were not aboard the airport (probably because those airports are not served by the 757). The only charts in the flight bag and in the FMS database were ZZZ1; so we elected to divert there. We advised ATC; headed toward ZZZ1; and advised dispatch via ACARS. Shortly thereafter; dispatch advised that they did not recommend ZZZ1 as an alternate and recommended the airports we rejected. We replied that we did not have those charts on board and continued toward ZZZ1. Dispatch then replied that ZZZ1 operations did not have the necessary equipment to handle a 757. At this point; we reevaluated our deteriorating fuel situation (we were now at approximately 8;000 pounds of fuel) and decided an immediate decision had to be made. We advised ATC and they said that destination arrivals might be able to accommodate us; so we reversed course back towards the northeast. At this point it became clear to us that our dispatcher was obviously not recognizing our critical fuel situation; since they asked us if we could make [distant alternates]. We replied that was impossible; as we would have to circumnavigate the weather again and we didn't have enough fuel for that. ATC then advised us that our destination was experiencing a severe thunderstorm and that all aircraft were going around or diverting; and we knew we did not have enough fuel to make an approach and then go around. After further discussion with ATC; the captain and I realized that we needed to divert into ZZZ since its runway was approximately 6;600 feet. We knew this aircraft had the capability to safely land and depart a runway of that length. The captain declared a fuel emergency with ATC. ATC was very helpful; vectoring us directly to ZZZ and even providing the necessary runway data; ILS frequency (even though it was VMC). We landed at ZZZ without incident. Now we had to decide what to do to get to destination. We knew that the captain's emergency authority allowed us to land at ZZZ; even though the 757 ops specs did not list it as an approved airport. But what about the departure? The ground personnel at ZZZ were very helpful at getting fuel for us and assisting us in every way; and the captain coordinated with chief dispatcher. They were able to get performance data for takeoff from company engineers; put together a sabre flight plan on the fly; and even contact the FAA to obtain an exemption for us to depart ZZZ with passengers instead of subjecting them to the inconvenience of being bussed to destination. Meanwhile; the station personnel coordinated re-fueling and printing out the necessary flight paperwork since our ACARS had no comm on the ground there. It took just over 2 hours; but we were finally able to get the necessary permission; flight plans; and takeoff data. We departed ZZZ without incident; and landed about 30 minutes later.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B757 flight crew describes a weather diversion after being re-routed then asked to hold beyond their prudent limit of endurance. The airport chosen is not a normal diversion airport and is not in the FMC database nor are there any approach charts. VMC prevails and a safe landing ensues with 5;800 LBS of fuel on board.

Narrative: Enroute approximately 45 minutes prior to arrival; ATC re-cleared us [to avoid weather]. We loaded the FMC and saw that this re-routed us nearly 150 miles to the east of destination. When queried; ATC advised us it was due to weather moving into the area that was going to shut down the northern arrivals corridor. At this point; there was a large area of intense convective activity to our north; which we had flown around. Shortly after; ATC advised us to hold with an EFC of approximately 30 minutes. At this point; the Captain and I discussed our fuel status and agreed that we could only hold for about 15 minutes. We advised Dispatch via ACARS of our hold clearance. Entering the hold; ATC advised us that all arrivals and departures had completely shut down due to thunderstorms over the airport; and we could expect one hour or more of holding. At this point Captain and I agreed that we needed to immediately plan for a diversion to an alternate. However; contacting Dispatch (both by ACARS and Radio) was extremely challenging at this point due to radio congestion (including a medical emergency on another flight) and several other diversions that Dispatch was handling. We considered alternates in the area; however upon examination of the charts on the aircraft; we discovered that some charts were not aboard the airport (probably because those airports are not served by the 757). The only charts in the flight bag and in the FMS database were ZZZ1; so we elected to divert there. We advised ATC; headed toward ZZZ1; and advised Dispatch via ACARS. Shortly thereafter; Dispatch advised that they did not recommend ZZZ1 as an alternate and recommended the airports we rejected. We replied that we did not have those charts on board and continued toward ZZZ1. Dispatch then replied that ZZZ1 Operations did not have the necessary equipment to handle a 757. At this point; we reevaluated our deteriorating fuel situation (we were now at approximately 8;000 LBS of fuel) and decided an immediate decision had to be made. We advised ATC and they said that destination arrivals might be able to accommodate us; so we reversed course back towards the northeast. At this point it became clear to us that our Dispatcher was obviously not recognizing our critical fuel situation; since they asked us if we could make [distant alternates]. We replied that was impossible; as we would have to circumnavigate the weather again and we didn't have enough fuel for that. ATC then advised us that our destination was experiencing a severe thunderstorm and that all aircraft were going around or diverting; and we knew we did not have enough fuel to make an approach and then go around. After further discussion with ATC; the Captain and I realized that we needed to divert into ZZZ since its runway was approximately 6;600 feet. We knew this aircraft had the capability to safely land and depart a runway of that length. The Captain declared a fuel emergency with ATC. ATC was very helpful; vectoring us directly to ZZZ and even providing the necessary runway data; ILS frequency (even though it was VMC). We landed at ZZZ without incident. Now we had to decide what to do to get to destination. We knew that the Captain's emergency authority allowed us to land at ZZZ; even though the 757 Ops Specs did not list it as an approved airport. But what about the departure? The ground personnel at ZZZ were very helpful at getting fuel for us and assisting us in every way; and the Captain coordinated with Chief Dispatcher. They were able to get performance data for takeoff from company engineers; put together a Sabre flight plan on the fly; and even contact the FAA to obtain an exemption for us to depart ZZZ with passengers instead of subjecting them to the inconvenience of being bussed to destination. Meanwhile; the station personnel coordinated re-fueling and printing out the necessary flight paperwork since our ACARS had no comm on the ground there. It took just over 2 hours; but we were finally able to get the necessary permission; flight plans; and takeoff data. We departed ZZZ without incident; and landed about 30 minutes later.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.