Originally Posted by Council Van
But to fly round the hold for a while, try another couple of approaches then divert to come back 4 hours later to land on the same runway. That just seems like crazy SOP's to me.
Well, to begin with the aircraft thinks it's too heavy to fit on the runway length. After a few hours it will be lighter, but then it will also have less fuel available for diversion.
Just kidding ...
The weather can also have improved.