The pilots of a Qantas flight were forced to issue a ‘mayday’ call after running low on fuel
Due to delays at Perth Airport the flight from Brisbane put into a holding pattern. It had an extra 20 minutes of fuel when told by ATC that the holding period would last about 16 minutes.
They had to declare a mayday in order to get priority landing permission.
Although in no immediate danger, the Qantas 737 aircraft was at risk of landing without the legally required fuel reserves if the pilots hadn’t declared the mayday.
