Narrative:

Approximately 25 minutes after takeoff from on a [part] 135 flight; we had been given a clearance to fly direct to ZZZZ intersection. ZZZZ is an intersection that is the boundary between center's airspace and oceanic's airspace. Shortly after receiving the direct to clearance; we reported to ATC that we would be unable to continue direct to ZZZZ due to a line of thunderstorms approximately 20 miles in front of us. We initially requested a 20 degree turn to the right and were immediately told that we would be unable to deviate to the right or climb whatsoever. We were told that the only deviation available would be to the left. The line of thunderstorms extended approximately 50 miles to our left and we told the controller that if we deviated in that direction; we would need to turn about 60 degrees left in order to avoid the weather. The controller seemed to ignore that option and immediately stated that if we had to deviate to the right; we would have to declare an emergency. He asked if that is what we wanted to do and my co-pilot responded; yes. A short time passed and the controller (he obviously assumed he was talking to the co-pilot) asked if he had the captain's authority to declare an emergency in order to deviate around the weather. Both crew members agreed that declaring an emergency was our only option to avoid flying into what was certainly no less than a level 4 thunderstorm with estimated tops of at least 40;000 ft. We never actually said the words 'we are declaring an emergency;' but it was clearly implied and we were finally given a turn to the right which allowed us to avoid the weather. The airspace that was to our right was active military airspace and shortly after the right turn we were given a traffic alert about two F-16's that were more than 20 miles away; whom we never saw. Other than that; there were no other traffic issues in the airspace that were brought to our attention. ATC did not ask for a report of any kind; nor did we make any telephone calls to ATC after landing.the overriding issue that I have with this situation is this: how can ATC; while operating in a radar environment; with weather radar capabilities; assume; and in our case; deny an aircraft operating in a busy corridor; weather deviations around severe weather that they are fully aware of? I understand that the corridor we were flying through had active military airspace on both sides; but wouldn't severe weather necessitate cooperation with the military to open up the airspace? We were certainly not the only aircraft dealing with this problem. Close behind us was a flight that was experiencing the same issue. Their situation wasn't as bad as ours; but we could clearly hear the stress level in the voice of the air carrier pilot as they tried to get the same authorization to deviate to the right of the weather. I cannot understand how the best ATC system in the world could not; in a timely manner; deal with our situation without forcing us to declare an emergency to avoid severe weather that they were most certainly aware of long before we even entered the airspace. Something must be done about the way these controllers operate when faced with a situation such as ours.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Lear 60 Captain reports being required to declare an emergency by Center to deviate around severe weather into military airspace.

Narrative: Approximately 25 minutes after takeoff from on a [Part] 135 flight; we had been given a clearance to fly direct to ZZZZ intersection. ZZZZ is an intersection that is the boundary between Center's airspace and Oceanic's airspace. Shortly after receiving the direct to clearance; we reported to ATC that we would be unable to continue direct to ZZZZ due to a line of thunderstorms approximately 20 miles in front of us. We initially requested a 20 degree turn to the right and were immediately told that we would be unable to deviate to the right or climb whatsoever. We were told that the only deviation available would be to the left. The line of thunderstorms extended approximately 50 miles to our left and we told the Controller that if we deviated in that direction; we would need to turn about 60 degrees left in order to avoid the weather. The Controller seemed to ignore that option and immediately stated that if we had to deviate to the right; we would have to declare an emergency. He asked if that is what we wanted to do and my co-pilot responded; yes. A short time passed and the Controller (he obviously assumed he was talking to the co-pilot) asked if he had the Captain's authority to declare an emergency in order to deviate around the weather. Both crew members agreed that declaring an emergency was our only option to avoid flying into what was certainly no less than a level 4 thunderstorm with estimated tops of at least 40;000 FT. We never actually said the words 'we are declaring an emergency;' but it was clearly implied and we were finally given a turn to the right which allowed us to avoid the weather. The airspace that was to our right was active military airspace and shortly after the right turn we were given a traffic alert about two F-16's that were more than 20 miles away; whom we never saw. Other than that; there were no other traffic issues in the airspace that were brought to our attention. ATC did not ask for a report of any kind; nor did we make any telephone calls to ATC after landing.The overriding issue that I have with this situation is this: How can ATC; while operating in a radar environment; with weather radar capabilities; assume; and in our case; deny an aircraft operating in a busy corridor; weather deviations around severe weather that they are fully aware of? I understand that the corridor we were flying through had active military airspace on both sides; but wouldn't severe weather necessitate cooperation with the military to open up the airspace? We were certainly not the only aircraft dealing with this problem. Close behind us was a flight that was experiencing the same issue. Their situation wasn't as bad as ours; but we could clearly hear the stress level in the voice of the air carrier pilot as they tried to get the same authorization to deviate to the right of the weather. I cannot understand how the best ATC system in the world could not; in a timely manner; deal with our situation without forcing us to declare an emergency to avoid severe weather that they were most certainly aware of long before we even entered the airspace. Something must be done about the way these controllers operate when faced with a situation such as ours.

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.