VISITORS
Making its first visit this morning was Rossiya A319 VQ-BAR (1488 ex N901FR), followed this evening by Citation 510 OE-FHA (0081) registered to Globeair AG
FLEET NEWS
Aurigny. The two ATR72s leaving the fleet following delivery of the new aircraft will be G-BWDA (444) & G-BXTN (483).
EasyJet A320 G-TTOD (1723) was noted at Shannon on Thursday as I-EEZO & awaiting delivery to Eurofly.
Sterling B737 OY-MRG (28010) was ferried from Tallinn to Shannon on Thursday for painting for an unknown operator & was followed today by OY-MLW (29078), which is to go to Aires Colombia scheme.
Thompson A/W B733 G-THOK (28660) flew its last revenue service on 24th February & is currently at Bournemouth undergoing end of lease checks.
ROUTE NEWS
None today.
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS
A bit of unwanted excitement this morning when B772 A6-ECM/UAE9 was the subject of a bomb scare. The airport was shut for almost half an hour while the aircraft landed & was parked remotely. The closure resulted in A332 A7-AFM/QTR075 diverting to Stansted, though it returned to Gatwick later. Apparently, a note was found in the toilet of the Emirates alleging that there was a bomb on board. After landing, the aircraft was parked near the end on the 26L runway & all passengers were kept on board for a while before being moved to a lounge inside the terminal in order to determine the identity of the hoaxer. The whole sorry episode was still ongoing late this afternoon, though the joker (a 20 year old male) has been identified & is being dealt with along with another man who was found to have a suitcase packed full of rhino horns & elephant tusks. Let's hope that these two spend an appropriate amount of time at Her Majesty's pleasure. You have to feel sorry for all the delayed passengers, especially those with connecting flights.
Amazingly, this was the first of no less than five emergencies here today, the other four being Malev B736 HA-LOG/MAH614 (hot brakes), Monarch A300B G-OJMR/MON4278 (undercarriage would not raise), British A/W B733 G-LGTG/BAW8038 (impacted something) & Virgin B744 G-VXLG/VIR043 (one engine out). A few interrupted games of snooker at the fire station today & a headache for our man in the tower!
CREDITS
John Creasey, Gary Loates, Gary McLean, Graham Stevens, Derek Malt, Ken Ede, Malcolm Baldry, Dave Broome, Robbie Shaw, Jethro, Skyliner, Ian Fleming & anybody else that I have forgotten.
Happy spotting!
John (& "Mad" Max)
MOVEMENTS SUMMARY (most from SBS)
AAW912 - A320 5A-ONA
ADR450 - CRJ2 S5-AAK
AMC116 - A320 9H-AEI
AUI501 - B733 UR-GAQ
AWE730 - B752 N204UW
AWE732 - A333 N278AY
AZW722 - B762 Z-WPE
BEL2121 - B462 OO-DJX
BEL2129 - B462 OO-DJV
BLE439P - MD83 F-GMLX
BMM314 - A321 CN-ROM
BRU851 - B735 EW-253PA
BTI651 - B733 YL-BBL
CIM265 - B737 OY-MRE
CIM5765 - B737 OY-MRF
CLI8640 - A320 EC-JZQ
CNO623 - B735 LN-BRJ
CTN4494 - A319 9A-CTG
DAL012 - B764 N835MH
DAL036 - B752 N710TW (callsign displayed as DAL165 on SBS)
EIN242 - A320 EI-DEI
EIN244 - A320 EI-CVD
EIN246 - A320 EI-DEO (also EIN248)
ELL101 - B735 ES-ABD
EZS8569 - A319 HB-JZI (also EZS8571)
EZS8573 - A319 HB-JZF (also EZS8575)
HHI7195 - A319 D-AHIM (also HHI7199)
ISS3531 - A319 EI-DFA
ISS3535 - A319 EI-DEZ
MAH612 - B736 HA-LOG
MAH614 - B737 HA-LOS
MGX720 - F100 4O-AOP
MPD230 - MD80 EC-KCX (Swiftair - also MPD232)
MXA1594 - B762 XA-MXO
NAX1318 - B733 LN-KKV
NAX1342 - B733 LN-KKU
QTR075 - A332 A7-AFM
RYR1X - B738 EI-DLD
RYR112G - B738 EI-DHB (also RYR114G)
RYR116G - did not operate
RYR118G - B738 EI-DCS (aircraft change from the predicted EI-DWV)
RYR1124 - B738 EI-DAS (also RYR1126)
RYR1182 - B738 EI-DWL
RYR5562 - B738 EI-DWZ (also RYR5568)
RYR7102 - B738 EI-DPW
RYR9228 - B738 EI-DPC
RYR9852 - B738 EI-DWS
SDM297 - A319 VQ-BAR (first visit)
TAP332 - A319 CS-TTO
TAP334 - A320 CS-TNL
TAP344 - A319 CS-TTQ
UAE009 - B773 A6-ECO
UAE011 - B772 A6-EMK
UAE015 - B773 A6-ECP
VIK176 - B738 SE-RHR (also VIK872)
BIZJETS, ETC
LZ-FIA Gulf 550 (arr 18/3 & dep today)
OE-FHA Ce510 (GAC271 - first visit)
YL-ABA Lear 60 (arr 21/3)
YR-TIK BD700 (arr 21/3 & dep today)