Divers

✈️ QantasLink, an Australian short-haul airline subsidiary, phased out its last Boeing 717 in late December, which once formed the backbone of both Spanair and Volotea, transporting up to 100 passengers. The retirement comes after Qantas had to delay the model's discontinuation due to Airbus A220 delivery setbacks. Currently, only Hawaii Airlines and Delta still operate the nearly 25-year-old aircraft, as it has been largely retired from service.

🛩 Multiple flights at Bilbao Airport were diverted due to strong wind gusts, impacting operations recently. A noteworthy incident involved a Vueling Airbus A320, which, unable to land in Bilbao, was rerouted over 600 kilometers away to Palma de Mallorca, causing surprise among social media users. The A320 safely landed at 22:45 after over four hours in flight, having departed at 18:35. The flight path was recorded on Flightradar24.

💸 An Iberia pilot demonstrates turbulence management on a flight from Madrid to Athens aboard an A320 of IAG, by descending from 39,000 to 36,000 feet, as advised by air traffic control—emphasizing seatbelt safety and noting turbulence is not unsafe.

💸 Passengers on a Lufthansa Airbus A320 experienced a nightmare during a flight from Munich to Bilbao, meant to take just over two hours. The plane circled the Bilbao airport for approximately 90 minutes due to strong winds. After a total of eight loops and one failed landing attempt, the crew headed to Madrid, successfully landing four hours after departure from Germany. The incident, traceable via a Flightradar24 image, garnered attention with 2,400 people following the flight's progress online.

✈️ Turkish Airlines Boeing 737 made an emergency landing in Malta on January 1st after a passenger felt unwell. During the incident, four men escaped from the aircraft, causing a chase; two were arrested while two remained at large. The Moroccan passenger was hospitalized under police custody, and the flight later continued to Morocco.

✈️ Singapore Airlines' Airbus 350, flight SQ52, departed from Singapore and headed to Manchester, UK. It was rerouted to Gatwick Airport due to heavy snowfall closing Manchester Airport. The flight, initially lasting 15 hours, attempted to depart Gatwick for Manchester one hour later but faced air congestion. After another hour's wait and a further 2-hour flight, crew time limitations forced the flight to postpone until Monday.

🚀 Emirates, the Dubai-based airline, will use its new A350s on short-haul routes to Kuwait and Bahrain. The A350 will operate flights 853 and 854 to Kuwait and flights 837, 838, 839, and 840 to Bahrain, with twice-daily flights to Manama, Bahrain's capital. The aircraft, freshly delivered by Airbus from Toulouse, will also serve long-haul routes, including one to Edinburgh, Scotland. Emirates has been flying to Kuwait since its inception and currently offers 29 weekly connections. On these routes, A350s have 312 seats, with 53 being Business or Premium Economy class.

🐘 In Thailand, a Spanish tourist died on Friday after being attacked by an elephant at the elephant center on Yao Yai island. The fatal incident occurred during an elephant bath, where the elephant turned violent and impaled the tourist with a tusk. Thailand reported 39 elephant attack fatalities in 2024, mostly from wild elephants, according to the National Parks Department.

📹 A video uploaded on December 16 by Preferente to their YouTube channel shows an A330 from Plus Ultra being overtaken by an Iberia A350 while flying over the Atlantic. The Plus Ultra A330 departed from Madrid to Caracas, and the Iberia A350 also took off from Barajas, headed to Lima.

💥 Aviation incidents in recent weeks include tragedies in Azerbaijan and South Korea, with a plane crash in Kazakhstan claiming 67 lives. Alaska Airlines lost a door mid-flight, affecting Boeing's reputation. In Tokyo, a Japan Airlines Airbus 350 hit a coastguard plane, killing all rescuers on board, while the 379 Airbus passengers survived. March saw 15 deaths in a Russian military plane crash. A Voepass ATR 72 in Brazil crashed on August 9th, killing 62. A Swift Air pilot died during a cargo flight landing in Vilnius, Lithuania. December's incidents resulted in 179 deaths on Jeju Airlines and 38 in Azerbaijan.