*QANTAS conducted a special charter flight from Melbourne, Australia, to Antaractica, on New Years Eve with 1 of its A380 aircraft. 450 Passengers paid out between A$999 to A$6000 for the 12 hour round trip photographic journey. The atmosphere onboard was described as celebratory, with champagne corks popping to welcome in the New Year. Once the aircraft reached the frozen continent, it conducted a series of fly-overs for those onboard to take pictures. Antarctic flights have been conducted for decades, usually using a Boeing 747. This is the 1st trip for the Airbus A380 to the continent.
*A man who walked into a secure area triggered a terminal-wide lockdown at Newark Liberty International Airport last night, grounding outgoing planes and forcing several thousands of passengers to wait for hours for re-screening. The incident occurred 9 days after a failed terrorist attack on a Detroit-bound plane heightened tensions at the nation’s Airports and increased security restrictions. TSA and Airline officials, said an unidentified man walked through a checkpoint exit around 5:20pm. A TSA spokeswoman said the agency was reviewing video from Airport cameras at the terminal and was not sure whether the man went out the wrong way and then went back, or never went through screening. "A male individual was observed walking the wrong way down an exit lane in Terminal C at Newark Liberty Airport," she said. "TSA was notified and we immediately halted screening at the security checkpoints in Terminal C and worked with the Port Authority to pull the surveillance tapes in the area to determine what transpired and see if we could identify the individual in question." The individual has not been located. Rescreening began around 10:30pm, with passengers allowed to approach in groups of 25. The incident immediately put a halt to all flights out of the terminal, including those with passengers who had already boarded and were awaiting takeoff on a cold, gusty night that already was causing delays. According to passenger reports, the scene was "total chaos".
*Passengers onboard a QANTAS A380 are currently stuck on the aircraft, following an aborted takeoff. The incident is ongoing at the time of this posting. Earlier today, Qantas Flight 93 was on International Service from Melbourne, Australia, to Los Angeles, California, with about 450 passengers and crew onboard. According to media reports, about 10 seconds into its takeoff roll, the Pilots aborted the takeoff run due to technical problem with the fuel gauges. The aircraft had already been delayed for the same reason, and passengers had been told that the problem had been fixed as they moved for takeoff. After the takeoff was aborted, the A380 taxied off the runway for mechanical checks. Passengers were told that could not disembark because of the heightened security procedures for flights going to the US. They were told it was not feasible to disembark 450 passengers and re-screen them for a 2nd time. The delay has now stretched for several hours, that the flight will no longer be able to takeoff due to the crew exceeding their permitted on-duty hours. Qantas has not provided Australian media with a timetable for when/or if the aircraft will be allowed to depart, of, if the passengers will be offloaded anytime soon. As seen in the photo above, the Airline has brought catering trucks to the aircraft to feed the stranded passengers.
*An AERO REPUBLICA ERJ190 had to make an emergency return to Bogota, Colombia, yesterday, January 3. Flight 7540 was on Domestic Service from Bogota to San Andres Island, with 63 passengers and crew onboard. While climbing out of Bogota, the crew reported unspecified problems with the passenger cabin pressurization, and requested return. The ERJ landed back at Bogota without incident, and was removed from service for inspection and repairs.
*A KLM ROYAL DUTCH AIRLINES Boeing 737 had to make an emergency return to Amsteram, The Netherlands, yesterday, January 3. Flight 1703, on International Service to Madrid, Spain, could not fully retract the landing gear after takeoff. The crew leveled off at 10000 feet and entered a holding pattern. The 737 landed back at Amsterdam without incident, about 45 minutes after its initial departure. The aircraft was removed from service for inspection and repairs.
*An ARKEFLY Boeing 737 suffered minor damage when it suffered a tail strike, yesterday, January 3. Flight 602 was on International Service from Kittila, Finland, to Amsterdam, The Netherlands, with 181 passengers and 7 crew members onboard. Shortly after departure, the crew requested diversion due to a tail strike on takeoff. The 737 was diverted to Rovaniemi, Finland, where it landed without incident. The aircraft was removed from service for a full inspection and repairs.
*A JETCONNECT Boeing 737 had to divert yesterday, January 3, after suffering a bird strike. Flight 48 was on International Service from Wellington, New Zealand, to Sydney, Australia, when it suffered the bird strike during its climb out of Wellington. The incident caused "severe" engine vibrations. The 737 was diverted Christchurch, New Zealand, where it landed without incident. The aircraft was removed from service for inspection and repairs.
*A CLICK MEXICANA Fokker 100 had to return to Mexico City, Mexico, on January 1, due to unruly passengers. Flight 7219, on Domestic Service to Huatulco, requested an immediate return after a fight broke out between 2 passengers shortly after depature. The Fokker landed back at Mexico City without incident and the 2 passengers were taken into custody. According to Government officials, a well known Mexican female singer, who was onboard, got into a scuffle with another passenger who attempted to take pictures of her without her consent. The scuffle began when she tried to take away the camera. Officials did say that alcohol played a part in the incident and the 2 faces charges of disrupting the security of a flight.
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