A B747-400 dispatcher reported declaring a fuel emergency because the filed alternate airport near t...

Narrative:

Prior to arrival at a foreign asian airport; ATC notified the flight of thunderstorms at field. Captain contacted dispatch that with current fuel onboard they would not be able to hold this long. At this point it was determined between captain and dispatch that a diversion to nearby airport for fuel would be the best course of action. This airport was the listed alternate. Several minutes later the crew called dispatch on satcom to advise that ATC would not give permission to land at that airport. Crew had also told dispatch that they asked ATC about a more distant airport. ATC denied their request and also denied a third airport near the second choice. Crew and/or ATC inquired about diversion to a fourth more distant airport. Dispatch calculation showed burn to that airport would be 36.0; there was insufficient fuel onboard for this. At this point captain and dispatch concurred that declaring a fuel emergency was necessary. While asking for a diversion to the destination airport; ATC denied it along with listed alternate; but did allow fuel emergency diversion to third previously requested airport which it safely did and fob at block in was 20.1. From my best recollection; flight did hold about 1 hour before diverting.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B747-400 Dispatcher reported declaring a fuel emergency because the filed alternate airport near the thunderstorm impacted airport destination was denied by an Asian ATC so the crew selected another alternate suitable for the available fuel.

Narrative: Prior to arrival at a foreign Asian airport; ATC notified the flight of thunderstorms at field. Captain contacted Dispatch that with current fuel onboard they would not be able to hold this long. At this point it was determined between Captain and Dispatch that a diversion to nearby airport for fuel would be the best course of action. This airport was the listed alternate. Several minutes later the crew called Dispatch on SATCOM to advise that ATC would not give permission to land at that airport. Crew had also told Dispatch that they asked ATC about a more distant airport. ATC denied their request and also denied a third airport near the second choice. Crew and/or ATC inquired about diversion to a fourth more distant airport. Dispatch calculation showed burn to that airport would be 36.0; there was insufficient fuel onboard for this. At this point Captain and Dispatch concurred that declaring a fuel emergency was necessary. While asking for a diversion to the destination airport; ATC denied it along with listed alternate; but did allow fuel emergency diversion to third previously requested airport which it safely did and FOB at block in was 20.1. From my best recollection; flight did hold about 1 hour before diverting.

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.

Attributes
ACN	955165
Time
Date	201106
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZZ.Airport
State Reference	FO
Environment
Flight Conditions	IMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B747-400
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Initial Approach
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Dispatcher
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Inflight Event / Encounter Fuel Issue Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence

A B747-400 dispatcher reported declaring a fuel emergency because the filed alternate airport near the thunderstorm impacted airport destination was denied by an asian ATC so the crew selected another alternate suitable for the available fuel.