Narrative:

Flight was en-route (oceanic) with an expected fuel over destination of 19.7 k lbs. Due to stronger than forecast westerly winds we burned 2;000 lbs more than planned but still had expected arrival fuel adequate for normal operations in ZZZZ. Approx one hour before landing; center advised that due to strong westerly winds in ZZZZ that runway 25 was in use and that an aircraft was inbound for landing reporting 'under-carriage problems.' center also advised us that we could expect to hold for a delay of at least 25 minutes. We could hear that there were two other aircraft holding in front of us so we advised that we could not hold much longer than that before diverting to an alternate. At the same time; we were in radio contact with our company station in ZZZZ who advised us that our alternate airport had no fuel or customs available; and that we were not to go there but to declare a fuel emergency and land in ZZZZ. When center advised us that we would have to expect longer delays than 40 minutes we asked for a firm expect further clearance time; we were informed that he could not give us a firm answer. I elected to then declare a fuel emergency and was vectored to land ZZZZ without incident. We found out later that there was an aircraft stuck on the runway in ZZZZ prior to our arrival. Company station in ZZZZ informed us that they did not want us to use our planned alternate since there were no ground handling facilities open and we would have to spend the night there. Approaching ZZZZ control area we were barraged with much new information concerning an aircraft inbound with landing gear problems. ZZZZ was already down to a single runway operation due to the unusually strong westerly winds; and we were faced with 'rolling delays' in getting approach clearance and did not know how long we would be forced to hold before we would have to proceed to our alternate; as there were no other options available to us. The flight crew and I felt that this was the most prudent and safest course of action in the face of the wind/weather conditions we were facing along with the unexpected delays. Use of the re-release flight plan helps reduce the amount of reserve fuel carried; but the fuel load was adequate until we were faced with unexpected delays and adverse weather conditions.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: After long oceanic flight B767 Captain is informed that the destination airport is down to one runway due to winds and that runway is currently closed due to an aircraft with gear problems. With ongoing delays and the alternate airport considered unsuitable the Captain declares a fuel emergency and lands safely.

Narrative: Flight was en-route (oceanic) with an expected Fuel Over Destination of 19.7 k lbs. Due to stronger than forecast westerly winds we burned 2;000 lbs more than planned but still had expected arrival fuel adequate for normal operations in ZZZZ. Approx one hour before landing; Center advised that due to strong westerly winds in ZZZZ that runway 25 was in use and that an aircraft was inbound for landing reporting 'under-carriage problems.' Center also advised us that we could expect to hold for a delay of at least 25 minutes. We could hear that there were two other aircraft holding in front of us so we advised that we could not hold much longer than that before diverting to an alternate. At the same time; we were in radio contact with our company station in ZZZZ who advised us that our alternate airport had no fuel or customs available; and that we were not to go there but to declare a Fuel Emergency and land in ZZZZ. When Center advised us that we would have to expect longer delays than 40 minutes we asked for a firm expect further clearance time; we were informed that he could not give us a firm answer. I elected to then declare a Fuel Emergency and was vectored to land ZZZZ without incident. We found out later that there was an aircraft stuck on the runway in ZZZZ prior to our arrival. Company Station in ZZZZ informed us that they did not want us to use our planned alternate since there were no ground handling facilities open and we would have to spend the night there. Approaching ZZZZ control area we were barraged with much new information concerning an aircraft inbound with landing gear problems. ZZZZ was already down to a single runway operation due to the unusually strong westerly winds; and we were faced with 'rolling delays' in getting approach clearance and did not know how long we would be forced to hold before we would have to proceed to our alternate; as there were no other options available to us. The flight crew and I felt that this was the most prudent and safest course of action in the face of the wind/weather conditions we were facing along with the unexpected delays. Use of the re-release flight plan helps reduce the amount of reserve fuel carried; but the fuel load was adequate until we were faced with unexpected delays and adverse weather conditions.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.