Don't think I've heard an airplane yet refuse to answer souls + fuel for an emergency. Did I hear this correctly? I'm sure it's not a huge deal (they deferred to company) but I thought it was quite interesting.
Actually, I had to cut a chunk of dead air on the transmission after this statement so it could be that the controller indeed did contact company within that time to get the information. The guy, I'm assuming the pilot, might have been better off giving the info. I'm also unsure if this is the first call for emergency or if occurred with a previous controller. He might have been frustrated, like when the maitre de, the busboy and the waiter all take your order in succession and no one brings you the food.
Still, it sounded like a Basil Fawlty moment.
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