A Ryanair flight from Venice to Manchester was forced to make an emergency diversion to London Stansted after pilots detected a fuel leak. The Boeing 737 Max aircraft, carrying 191 passengers, departed on April 24, 2025, but developed a fuel imbalance mid-flight.
According to a report published on April 9, 2026, by the Air Accident Investigations Branch (AAIB), the pilots noticed a fuel imbalance and attempted to correct it through cross-feeding. However, the imbalance worsened, indicating a leak in the right engine. The report stated that the non-normal checklist was not fully actioned, and the pilots decided not to shut down the affected engine.
The rate of the leak meant that continuing to Manchester would have exhausted all additional fuel. The aircraft diverted to Stansted, where it landed safely and was met by fire crews. Emergency services confirmed fuel was leaking from the right engine.
The AAIB report criticised the pilots for completing the fuel balancing process from memory and not considering the possibility of a fuel leak, which delayed diagnosis. When the leak was confirmed, they did not shut down the engine, increasing the risk of fire during landing due to fuel vapour exposure to the hot engine when using thrust reverse.
A Ryanair spokesperson said the airline fully participated in the investigation. This incident follows another Ryanair flight in October 2025 that came within six minutes of running out of fuel, diverting to Manchester after failing to land at Prestwick and Edinburgh due to Storm Amy.
