Hi ferris.
Not having a go at ATC . I have said you do generally a good job.
reference to the comment you made
" lets look from another angle. Let's say the "mayday" was one of those drunk-pax-i-have-a-bomb-scenarios"
That’s a presumption ? You are still sending traffic off on departure when the said aircraft is on short final...
Err on the side of caution or look at the scenario differntly, if a departing aircraft rejected T/O at high speed the runway would most likely be blocked correct? Saying that what if the Mayday was in fact a real Mayday call, what happens then?? They divert is it?
Would you not consider safer they be on the ground... A small bit of backup of AC on taxiways etc would not cause a major delay .