Ah, but would they ?  Imagine the loss of revenue for a country deeply in debt.

All EU registered planes will carry sufficient fuel for the sector plus enough for a diversion to an official alternate airport plus 45 minutes.  No aircrew nor despatcher would dare load anything less. 

Does the original poster assume that because it's Ryanair then the airline must be at fault? 

The text of the Tumbit article explains it all

QUOTE



Low-cost airline Ryanair says it was following procedure when three of its pilots requested emergency landings in the Spanish city of Valencia.

The Spanish authorities opened an investigation into the airline following the incidents in July.

The pilots told aviation officials that they needed to land immediately because they were running low on fuel.

They had been diverted from Madrid due to bad weather, and had been circling above Valencia for about an hour.

A Ryanair spokesman said the company had "no problem" with the investigation and would "cooperate fully".
Thunderstorms

The pilots had been asked to circle above Valencia because thunderstorms in Madrid prevented them form landing there as planned on July 26.

They were asked to join a queue, but were given priority when the pilots contacted air traffic control.

Although they were technically called "emergency landings", the planes were following procedure and passengers were not in danger, Ryanair said.

After 50 minutes, 68 minutes and 69 minutes respectively, the pilots had asked to land as they were reaching their reserve fuel levels, spokesman Stephen McNamara said.

All three planes had followed guidelines set out by Boeing and the European Aviation Safety Agency, and had landed with 30 minutes of reserve fuel left, he added.

He said the company then reported the incidents to the Spanish and Irish aviation authorities, prompting the investigation.

Any chance that the 'emergency' landings were requested by pilots under pressure to get the planes back on schedule quicker rather than queue in an orderly manner with all the other airlines' aircraft? 

Mind you this would be a great excuse for them to have another 'add on' to make money.  A tick box at the booking stage that adds another fiver which reads 'Would you like the plane to contain plenty of fuel?'   

Dare I suggest the VLC controllers didn't want their organised schedule interupted by an inconvenient diversion and therefore set Ryanair off on an extended orbit pattern that resulted in an unexpected fuel burn?    EVERY landing that becomes labelled as 'emergency' gets investigated regardless of cause by official bodies, in this case the Spanish and Irish.  Simples.