What is SkyWest's minimum contingency fuel?

• A. Thirty Minutes Minimum
• B. Ten Minutes Minimum
• C. Twenty Minutes Minimum
• D. Fifteen Minutes Minimum

Answer: (D)

Contingency fuel is extra fuel added on top of planned trip fuel and the final reserve to cover unforeseen delays or deviations during a flight. SkyWest establishes a fixed minimum of fifteen minutes for this contingency, meaning you must include at least that amount of additional fuel in your planning to handle typical unplanned events.

Fifteen minutes provides a practical cushion for common surprises such as short ATC holds, routing changes, or headwinds that aren’t fully anticipated in the trip plan, without weighing the aircraft down with excessive fuel. Ten minutes would often be too little to absorb these small, yet real, contingencies, while twenty or more minutes would be more than the required minimum and unnecessarily increase fuel burn and costs. So, the fifteen-minute minimum strikes a balance between safety margin and efficiency, making it the standard choice.