Air Tahiti Nui to launch direct Papeete to Sydney

AIR TAHITI NUI AIRBUS A340-313 F-OJGF (MSN 385)

Air Tahiti Nui has announced that it will launch a new direct service between Papeete International Airport (PPT/NTAA) and Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport (SYD/YSSY). 

The new route will give Australian travelers their first nonstop connection to French Polynesia and add to the island destination’s push to strengthen its international air links.

The inaugural flight is scheduled for the 14th of December 2026, with the airline operating twice weekly in each direction. Departures from Papeete are on Mondays and Thursdays at 12:10 local time, arriving in Sydney the following day at 17:45 local time. Return flights from Sydney depart on Tuesdays and Fridays at 20:10 local time arriving in Papeete at 06:25 local time. 

The service eliminates the need for a stopover, meaningfully cutting travel time between Australia and Tahiti. Currently, travelers from Sydney will need to stop in Auckland for flights to Tahiti.

The timing reflects growing Australian interest in French Polynesia as a travel destination. According to provisional data from Institut de la statistique de la Polynésie Française (ISPF), French Polynesia welcomed nearly 279,000 visitors in 2025, a new tourism record. Australians accounted for approximately 8,165 of those arrivals, a modest but strategically significant share that the airline is clearly looking to grow.

Newly appointed Air Tahiti Nui CEO Lionel Guérin framed the new route as part of a broader regional strategy, noting that a codeshare agreement with Qantas will complement the new service and provide additional frequency options for Australian travelers. 

“We are very pleased to announce this new direct service between Papeete and Sydney,” said Guérin. “With two direct flights per week and our codeshare agreement with Qantas, this service offers Australian travelers' greater comfort and additional frequencies, complementing our twice-weekly service to Auckland, New Zealand.”

The airline already operates twice-weekly flights to Auckland, and Sydney adds a second major Oceania gateway to its network.

Bomb threat forces Southwest Airlines to divert

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES BOEING 737-7H4

A Southwest Airlines flight travelling from Nashville (BNA/KBNA) to Fort Lauderdale (FLL/KFLL), was forced to make an emergency landing in Atlanta (ATL/KATL) due to a bomb threat at approximately 9 pm Friday night.

In TikTok footage shared by X user soldiersgirl, passengers could be seen with their heads down and hands up, with bomb squad specialists walking down the aisle, during the alleged terrorist bomb threat. In the footage you can clearly hear the cabin crew repeatedly yelling "heads down - hand ups"

The authorities are shown detaining a man that conservative journalist and activist Laura Loomer described as "Arabic looking."

Southwest Airlines issued this statement to the press. 

"Southwest Airlines Flight 2094 from Nashville to Fort Lauderdale, Florida was forced to divert to Atlanta late last night after an Arabic looking Muslim passenger onboard the plane threatened to blow the plane up with a bomb!"

The flight left Nashville International Airport at 7:21 p.m. local time, then forty minutes later, the flight landed in Atlanta. Passengers of that flight were moved to another aircraft and arrived in Fort Lauderdale just before 3:30 a.m., officials said.

The Atlanta Police Department confirmed that its officers assisted federal authorities with removing the passenger from the plane.

“We appreciate the professionalism of our Flight Crew and apologize to our customers for the delay. Nothing is more important to Southwest than the Safety of its Customers and Employees,” the company said in a statement.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Southwest Airlines

Code: WN/SWA

Aircraft: Boeing 737-Max 8

Registration: N8837Q

Serial Number: 67485

Engines: 2 x CFMI LEAP-1B

First Flew: 21st December 2022

Age.3.4 Years

Remembering MH 370

Flight MH 370 was a scheduled international passenger flight that disappeared on the 8th of March 2014, while flying from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL/WMKK), Malaysia to Beijing-Capital International Airport (PEK/ZBAA) China. 

Flight 370 last made voice contact with air traffic control at 01:19 local time when it was over the South China Sea, less than an hour after takeoff. The aircraft disappeared from air traffic controllers' radar screens at 01:21 local time. Malaysian military radar continued to track Flight 370 as it deviated from its planned flight path and crossed the Malay Peninsula. Flight 370 left the range of Malaysian military radar at 02:22 while over the Andaman Sea, 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 miles) northwest of Penangin in northwestern Malaysia. 

The aircraft was carrying 12 Malaysian crew members and 227 passengers from 15 nations; six of those were Australians. Investigators thought the most likely location for the jet was in the Indian Ocean after analysing information from the British satellite telecommunications company Immarsat. Likely locations for the airliner could be tracked by knowing the distance from the fixed satellite, but it would also change depending which direction the plane was flying in after its last known position and at what speed it was travelling at. If it was flying north, then possible locations could stretch as far as the border between Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to Thailand. 

On the 26th of June 2014 the ATSB published a new search area based on refinements to the analysis of both the flight and satellite data. The priority area of approximately 60,000 km2 extends along the arc for 650 km in a northeast direction from Broken Ridge, an underwater ridge. The width of the priority search area is 93 km.

On the 29th of July 2015 a flapperon washed ashore on the French island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean. On the 5th of August it was established to have been from MH370.

Flight 370 was operated by a nearly 12-year-old Boeing 777-2H6ER, registration 9M-MRO (MSN 28420). This was the 404th Boeing 777 produced, it first flew on 14th May 2002 and was delivered to Malaysia Airlines on 31st May 2002. For the sake of the loved ones left behind and for the staff at Malaysia Airlines I hope they find the aircraft soon.

OUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS GO OUT TO THE FAMILIES, FRIENDS AND OF COURSE THE STAFF OF MALAYSIAN AIRLINES WHO ARE MISSING LOVED ONES

Man jailed for selling fake commercial aircraft parts

A 38-year-old man based in the UK has been jailed for over four years in prison after orchestrating a $52 million (£39.3 million) fraud selling fake commercial aircraft used by global airlines.

On the 23rd of February 2026, the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) announced that following his guilty plea in Southwark Crown Court, London, on the 1st of December 2025, AOG Technics Director Jose Alejandro Zamora Yrala was sentenced to four years and eight months behind bars.

An SFO investigation launched in October 2023, found that Zamora sold over 60,000 aircraft engine parts worth $9.3 million (£6.9 million) accompanied by forged Authorized Release Certificates (ARCs).

AOG Technic’s customers included major airlines, maintenance repair operators and engine parts suppliers.

Most of the parts that AOG sold were for use in CFM International CFM56 engines which are used to power Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 planes and are operated widely by airlines.

According to the SFO, AOG Technics’ operation was brought to a halt in 2023, after an airline contacted Safran (joint CFM International owner) to check the authenticity of a part.

“Safran identified the certificate as a fake and alerted authorities, leading to the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority, the United States’ Federal Aviation Administration, and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency issuing safety alerts in relation to all AOG Technics parts,” said a SFO spokesperson.

Carrying out the fraud from his home office, Zamora altered genuine ARCs, creating false memos of shipments to indicate AOG had purchased parts directly from original equipment manufacturers such as Safran.

He also invented fake employees, with customers receiving emails and documents signed by a range of fabricated sales managers and quality managers, as part of “creating an illusion of a legitimate business”.

In October 2023, CFM International said the company had identified 126 engines suspected of being fitted with falsely documented parts.

At the time it was understood that the “majority of the parts involved are non-serialized items like bolts, nuts, washers, dampers, seals and bushings,” with CFM unaware of any fraudulent documentation associated with life-limited parts.

“Zamora’s operation risked public safety on a global scale in a way that defies belief. I’m proud that we have used our specialist skills and expertise to bring him to justice and this criminal operation to the ground as swiftly as possible,” said Emma Luxton, Director of Operations at the SFO.

An Iran Air aircraft destroyed during military strikes

An Iran Air passenger aircraft was reportedly destroyed on the ground at Bushehr Airport (BUZ / OIBB) during military strikes inside Iran on Tuesday. Iranian media outlets- state that the attack was carried out by Israeli forces as part of a broader joint operation with the United States targeting sites inside Iran. According to those reports, the aircraft was parked at the airport at the time it was struck. 

Iranian outlets have described the aircraft as a civilian passenger plane destroyed while stationary on the apron. Based on online flight-tracking data, it is believed the aircraft may have been the Airbus A319, a 24.1-year-old aircraft that was positioned to Bushehr Airport and listed as parked there as of the 28th of February.

Images circulating online appear to show heavy smoke rising from airport grounds and significant damage to what looks to be a narrowbody aircraft consistent with an A319.

Bushehr Airport primarily handles domestic services along Iran's southern Gulf coast, with narrowbody aircraft regularly operating to and from the field. 

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Iran Air

Code: IR/IRA

Aircraft: Airbus A319-111

Registration: EP/IEP

Serial Number: 1654

Engines: CFMI CFM56-5B5/P

First Flew 8th January 2002

Age: 24.1 Years

The Airbus A319 has had a busy life.

Delivery Date     Airline               Registration
23/01/2002     Zhejiang Airlines      B-2225
13/09/2003     Air China                   B-2225
19/04/2012     Rossiya                     EI-ETN
01/10/2016     Hyperion Aviation    9H-LCB
12/02/2018     Asia Sky Lines          EY-559
11/12/2019     Tehran Air                 EP-THF
29/01/2020     Iran Air                      EP-IEP 

Remembering Speedbird 911

 

BOAC BOEING 747-436 G-BYGC (MSN 25823)

BOAC Flight 911 (call sign "Speedbird 911") was a round-the-world flight operated by the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) that crashed near Mount Fuji in Japan on the 5th of March 1966, with the loss of all 113 passengers and 11 crew members. The Boeing 707 jetliner involved disintegrated mid-air shortly after departing from Tokyo, as a result of severe clear-air turbulence.

The flight was a scheduled service from San Francisco (SFO/KSFO) to Hong Kong (HKG/VHHH) via Honolulu (HNL/PHNL) and Tokyo (HND/RJTT). The Boeing 707 was expected to arrive at Tokyo Airport at 16:45 on the 4th of March. However, due to poor meteorological conditions at Tokyo and because the precision approach radar (PAR) of the GCA was out of service, it diverted to Fukuoka (FUK/RJFF) and landed there at 18:00.

After staying overnight at Fukuoka, Flight 911 left for Tokyo at 11:25 and landed there at 12:43. The aircraft was prepared for the next leg to Hong Kong, and a flight plan was filed for a flight. At 13:42 the crew contacted ATC requesting permission to start the engines and clearance for a VMC climb via Fuji-Rebel-Kushimoto. The aircraft left the ramp at 13:50. It was instructed to make "a right turn after " and departed Tokyo Airport at 13:58. After takeoff the aircraft flew over Gotemba City on a heading of approximately 298 deg at an altitude of approximately 4900 m and indicated airspeed of 320 to 370 knots. 

The aircraft, trailing white vapor, then suddenly lost altitude over the Takigahara area, and parts of the aircraft began to break away over Tsuchiyadai and Ichirimatsu. Finally, over Tarobo at an altitude of approx. 2000 m, the forward fuselage broke away. The mid-aft fuselage together with the wing, making a slow flat spin to the right, crashed into a forest at the foot of Mount Fuji.

The forward fuselage crashed into the forest approx. 300 m to the west of the above site and caught fire.

At the time, it was the third fatal passenger airline accident in Tokyo in a month, following the crash of All Nippon Airways Flight 60 on the 4th of February and that of Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 402 just the day before.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: British Overseas Airways Corporation - BOAC

Code: BA/BOA

Aircraft: Boeing 707-436

Registration: G-APFE

Serial Number: 17706

Engines: 4 Rolls-Royce Conway 508

We’re keeping the families and friends remembering their loved ones today in our thoughts and prayers.

Lunar Eclipse over Brisbane

As you may know, a total lunar eclipse took place last night. This happens when the Earth moves directly between the Sun and the Moon, causing the Moon to pass completely through the darkest part of Earth’s shadow.

During the total phase of the eclipse, sunlight filtered through Earth’s atmosphere and bent toward the Moon, casting it in a striking red or copper glow.

From start to finish the whole eclipse took three hours and fourty minutes. The first photo was captured at 7:46 p.m., and the final image was taken at 11:26 p.m.

Since I was outside I thought I'd photograph aircraft coming into Brisbane as they pass by home.