TAP denied an autistic girl's service dog access to board aircraft

TAP AIR PORTUGAL AIRBUS A320-214 CS-TNX (MSN 2822)

A TAP Air Portugal flight from Rio de Janeiro (GIG /SBGL) to Lisbon (LIS/LPPT) flight was halted on the 24th of May 2025, after the airline refused to allow a 12-year-old girl with autism to board with her service dog, Tedy, despite a Brazilian court order authorizing the animal’s travel in the cabin. 

The Brazilian Federal Police intervened, grounding the flight when the crew denied boarding to the dog, even though all documentation was in order. TAP cited safety concerns, stating that the court order violated their flight operations manual, approved by Portuguese authorities. However, the airline offered to transport the dog in the cargo hold, which the guardian did not accept. This led to the flight's cancellation, and a TAP manager was charged with disobedience by Brazilian Federal Police. The child, who relies on the dog to manage anxiety and aggression, experienced a crisis upon learning Tedy could not travel.

The incident has sparked political and public criticism, with calls for clearer regulations and better training for airline staff regarding service animals. According to Folha do Leste, this dispute stemmed from a previous incident in April, when the same family attempted to travel to Portugal, and TAP also denied boarding to the emotional support animal without clear justification. As a result, the family sought legal action and successfully obtained a court order allowing the dog on board.

TAP replied with this statement:
"𝘛𝘈𝘗'𝘴 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘸. 𝘋𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘉𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘈𝘗 𝘈𝘪𝘳 𝘗𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘨𝘢𝘭 𝘍𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘖𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘢𝘭, 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘗𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬, 𝘸𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘭 𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘛𝘗74.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘈𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘭, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘳.

𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦.
𝘛𝘈𝘗 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳."

How much does it cost to land a plane at an airport

Have you ever considered the cost associated with landing and parking an aircraft at an airport?

I have, so I thought I'd investigate.

Landing fees at airports vary significantly based on factors like airport, aircraft weight, and time of day. A general guideline is that landing fees can range from around $150 to $500 for a single landing, with some airports having more complex tiered systems. 

Charges at some airports are more complex than described here and may include charges that are not listed specifically. Charges for training activity, parking, night usage etc. may apply even if not specified. 

At Brisbane Airport, light planes at the airport are charged according to their maximum take-off weight (MTOW), starting at $33 for up to 5000kg.

Brisbane Airport also charges a minimum $60 landing fee plus a $1.13 security fee. 

Adelaide Airport has a minimum general aviation fee of $41.15 depending on the MTOW. 

Perth Airport charges $9.14 per tonne of MTOW so that equals around $8.91 for a small light aircraft.

There are also fees for landing during peak periods at some airports, for example Brisbane Airport charges $150 extra between 7am and 10am and 4pm and 7pm.

Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart airports are the most expensive airports for light planes.

At Sydney Airport there is a flat fee of $110 per day for light plane parking, compared to $56. A runway charge of $4.88 per day also applies.

At Melbourne Airport a plane parking charge of $40 per 15 minutes applies after the first 90 minutes. There is also a landing fee of $250.

Pilots get 12 hours free parking for their light planes at Hobart Airport, and after that a fee of $20 for per day applies. There is also a landing fee of $40, or $16 per tonne of MTOW.

The cost to land a plane at Sydney Airport (SYD/YSSY) varies significantly depending on the aircraft's weight and the type of operation. For general aviation (GA), there is a minimum landing fee of $9.09 per tonne, with a daily apron parking fee of $4.86 per tonne. For larger, commercial aircraft, the landing fee is $20.9090 per tonne. Additionally, there are fees for runway use, parking, and other services.

Key Details:

• Light Aircraft: A flat fee of $110 per day for light plane parking, and a runway charge of $4.88 per day.
• General Aviation (GA): $4.86 per tonne (minimum $25.00) for apron parking, and $9.09 per tonne for landing (minimum $9.09).
• Heavy Aircraft: $260.00 or $520.00 per night for apron parking, depending on the duration.
• Landing Fee: $20.9090 per tonne for commercial flights.

The ACCC monitors the prices of certain services provided by Australia’s major airports, but this doesn’t restrict them from increasing their fees.

Pacific Airshow Gold Coast Cancelled for 2025

BREAKING NEWS

                                        This is extremely sad news.

The Pacific Airshow Gold Coast 2025 has been canceled as a result of environmental challenges, including Cyclone Alfred and significant king tides.

The much-anticipated Pacific Airshow Gold Coast, originally scheduled for the 15th - 17th of August 2025 in Surfers Paradise, has been officially cancelled. The announcement came in a heartfelt message from the event's organiser citing significant environmental setbacks that have compromised public safety and event quality.

In a statement released to the Pacific Airshow Gold Coast community, organisers detailed the impact of successive natural events, including the aftermath of Cyclone Alfred and a series of powerful king tides, which have severely eroded the Surfers Paradise foreshore.

"Subsequent to putting Pacific Airshow Gold Coast on sale, Southeast Queensland has experienced several king tides with massive accompanying swell," the statement read. "This perfect storm' of weather has caused additional and significant erosion creating new safety concerns."

Back in April, organisers had expressed confidence that restoration work on the iconic Surfers Paradise beach would be completed in time. However, the recent combination of extreme weather events has dashed those hopes.

'I take my responsibility to our PA family and the Gold Coast Community very seriously," the organiser said, "I feel it is our obligation to deliver an experience that exceeds your expectations every time you attend."

The decision to cancel was described as "timely and decisive," with the organiser making it clear that delivering a substandard experience was not an option. Ticket holders for the 2025 event will receive emails outlining their options, including a full refund

Despite the cancellation, the announcement concluded with an optimistic outlook. Organizers confirmed that the Pacific Airshow Gold Coast would be returning on the 14th - 16th of August 2026, with a promise of a show that will be 

"BIGGER, FASTER & LOUDER."

Back at Brisbane Airport

Yesterday, friends of ours were departing overseas for a holiday, so my wife, daughter, and I spent a few hours at the airport to watch their aircraft depart and to bid them farewell.

BRISBANE CITY

RAAF BOEING 737-MAX 8 BBJ A62-002 (MSN 67960) 2 YEARS

CHINA SOUTHERN AIRBUS A350-941 B-32CR (MSN 583)
CZ382 OFF TO GUANGZHOU (CAN) 2 YEARS

AIR NEW ZEALAND AIRBUS A321-271NX ZK-NNB (MSN 8542)
NZ142 OFF TO AUCKLAND (AKL) 6 YEARS

BOMBARDIER CHALLENGER 605 N605JL (MSN 5828) 
OFF TO MACKAY (MKY) 15 YEARS

FIJI AIRWAYS AIRBUS A330-243 DQ-FJV (MSN 1465)
FJ921 ARRIVING FROM NADI (NAN) 11 YEARS

RAAF AIRBUS A330-243 MRTT A39-005 (MSN 1183) 15 YEARS

NAURU AIRLINES BOEING 737-86N VH-8TG (MSN 33003) 23 YEARS

QANTASLINK EMBRAER E190AR VH-XVM (MSN 19000112)
QF1900 OFF TO ROCKHAMPTON (ROK) 18 YEARS

QANTAS AIRBUS A330-202 VH-EBM (MSN 1061)
QF61 OFF TO TOKYO (NRT) 15 YEARS

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA BOEING 737-8SA VH-IXK (MSN 44220)
VA369 OFF TO TOWNSVILLE (TSV) 11 YEARS

JETSTAR AIRBUS A320-232 VH-VFK (MSN 5334)
JQ905 ARRIVING FROM TOWNSVILLE (TSV) 12 YEARS

CATHAY PACIFIC AIRBUS A350-941 B-LRR (MSN 119)
CX165 ARRIVING FROM HONG KONG (HKG) 7 YEARS

AIR NEW ZEALAND BOEING 787-9 ZK-NZE (MSN 34334)
NZ145 ARRIVING FROM AUCKLAND (AKL) 11 YEARS

QANTASLINK EMBRAER E190AR VH-UYW (MSN 19000174)
QF1905 OFF TO CANBERRA (CBR) 17 YEARS

ALLIANCE FOKKER 70 VH-NKQ (MSN 11572)
FLIGHT INFORMATION NOT DISPLAYED

JETSTAR AIRBUS A321-251NX VH-OYP (MSN 11771)
JQ814 ARRIVING FROM SYDNEY (SYD) 11 MONTHS

QANTAS AIRBUS A330-203 VH-EBL (MSN 976)
QF51 OFF TO SINGAPORE (SIN) 16 YEARS

AIR NIUGINI BOEING 767-383 P2-PXW (MSN 25365)
PX4 OFF TO PORT MORESBY (POM) 33 YEARS

LINK AIRWAYS FAIRCHILD METRO 23 VH-VET (MSN DC-839B)
SW4 ARRIVING FROM ARMIDALE (ARM) 32 YEARS

QANTAS AIRBUS A330-303 VH-QPA (MSN 553)
QF98 ARRIVING FROM MANILA (MAN) 21 YEARS

JETSTAR BOEING 787-8 VH-VKA (MSN 36227)
JQ53 OFF TO SEOUL (ICN) 11 YEARS

Looking back on QantasLink Flight 1737

QANTASLINK BOEING 717-2BL VH-YQT (MSN 55179)

QantasLink Flight 1737 was an Australian domestic flight from Melbourne's-Tullamarine Airport, VIC (MEL/YMML) to Launceston Airport, TAS (LST/YMLT) and was subject to an attempted hijacking on the 29th of May 2003.

The Boeing 717 left Melbourne Airport at 2.50 p.m. on the 29th of May. Around ten minutes after take-off, as the crew prepared for the onboard meal service, David Mark Robinson, a passenger seated in Row 7, became agitated, stood up and began to make his way down the aisle. Producing two sharpened wooden stakes from his pocket, Robinson stabbed flight attendant Denise Hickson and flight purser Greg Khan in the head on his way to the cabin galley. Khan tackled Robinson to unbalance him, eventually succeeding despite repeated blows to the back of the head from Robinson's stakes. Several passengers (including a Canadian paramedic, Derek Finlay) helped restrain Robinson, holding him down and tying him up with materials found on board.

The plane immediately turned back to Melbourne, where Robinson was placed under arrest by Australian Federal Police. He was also found to be carrying aerosol cans and cigarette lighters, presumably to use as a flamethrower.

Khan and Hickson were taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital for treatment, and a passenger who received minor lacerations was treated at the airport by paramedics.

Despite numerous security improvements following the September 11, attacks, Flight 1737 lacked certain security arrangements. The door to the flightdeck had not been adapted to completely block access from the outside, and there was no sky marshal on board.

Qantas undertook a full security review following the incident and promised to secure the flightdeck doors on all of their aircraft by the 1st of November. The airline dismissed the suggestion of armed sky marshals on each flight as too expensive, and a full body search of passengers to detect wooden objects as unfeasible.

Qantas also made a training video regarding the incident; the crew involved were interviewed and this is shown during security training. Khan also speaks of how a passenger complained that the aircraft was returning to Melbourne, even though two crew members had suffered serious injuries and an attempt to hijack the aircraft had just occurred. Khan and other crew also report the amount of blood stains throughout the aircraft as a result of the injuries.

Since this incident, all Boeing 717 aircraft operated by QantasLink were fitted with cameras and the flight deck door was bullet proof. 

Sadly, QantasLink no longer fly the Boeing 717.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Qantaslink

Code: QF/QFA

Aircraft: Boeing 717-231

Registration: VH-VQI

Serial Number: 55095

Engines: 2 x BMW RR BR715

First Flew: 7/11/2011

Age: 21 Yrs. 6 Mts

Garuda grounds its own jets

Garuda Indonesia has grounded at least 15 aircraft due to difficulties covering maintenance costs, while its low-cost subsidiary Citilink has grounded nearly half of its fleet. The situation raises serious concerns not only about the state-controlled airline’s financial recovery but also about operational safety.

GARUDA INDONESIA BOEING 737-8U3 PK-GMW (MSN 38069)

Data from planespotters.net shows Garuda Indonesia has 16 aircraft parked, primarily A330s and 737s, while Citilink has grounded 26 aircraft, mostly A320s and ATR 72s. One source said that several suppliers to Indonesia’s flag carrier are now demanding advance payment for parts and services, reflecting growing unease about Garuda’s financial health.

However, Garuda is not the only Indonesian airline with a significant number of parked aircraft.
Before examining the numbers in detail, it’s important to note that aircraft may be grounded for a range of legitimate operational reasons. These include scheduled or heavy maintenance, seasonal fluctuations in demand, or logistical needs such as aircraft repositioning. Airlines also sometimes operate "ghost flights" with few or no passengers to retain valuable airport slots. Additionally, some aircraft are stored long-term or retired to boneyards, where they may be scrapped for parts or kept in reserve.

Looking at Indonesia’s other major carriers we see that

• AirAsia Indonesia operates a fleet of 30 A320 aircraft, with 9 (or one-third) currently parked.
• Lion Air has 95 of its 371 aircraft grounded.

Plane spotting from my back yard.

Yesterday was the first day in a few weeks where they were using runway 01 in Brisbane. So, I thought I'd spend the morning outside taking advantage of the aircraft flying over. For those new to the blog, we don't live all that far from Archerfield airport, so we also get a lot of light aircraft flying over all day long.

EMIRATES AIRBUS A380-861 A6-EON (MSN 188)
EK434 ARRIVING FROM DUBAI (DXB) 10 YEARS

UNITED AIRLINES BOEING 787-9 N15969 (MSN 60142)
UA60 OVERFLYING BRISBANE FROM SAN FRANCISCO FOR MELBOURNE

QANTAS BOEING 737-838 VH-VZS (MSN 39358)
QF120 ARRIVING FROM AUCKLAND (AKL) 13 YEARS

JETSTAR AIRBUS A321-251NX VH-OYQ (MSN 12020)
JQ150 ARRIVING FROM AUCKLAND (AKL) 10 MONTHS

CHINA SOUTHERN AIRBUS A350-941 B-32FR (MSN 626)
CZ381 ARRIVING FROM GUANGZHOU (CAN) 2 YEARS

AIR NEW ZEALAND AIRBUS A321-271NX ZK-NNG (MSN 8909)
NZ201 ARRIVING FROM CHRISTCHURCH (CHC) 5 YEARS

SLING 2 24-8592 (MSN 181)

AIR LINK CESSNA 310 VH-HSL (MSN 310R0946)

NORTH AMERICAN AT-6D TEXAN VH-TOA (MSN 412227)

FIJI AIRWAYS AIRBUS A330-243 DQ-FJT (MSN 1394)
FJ921 ARRIVING FROM NADI (NAN) 12 YEARS

BASAIR CESSNA 172S SKYHAWK VH-DNV (MSN 172S8945)

NAVAIR CESSNA CITATION MUSTANG VH-SHI (MSN 510-0202)

FLIGHT ONE CESSNA 172 SKYHAWK VH-LOK (MSN 172S8103)

AIR NEW ZEALAND BOEING 777-367 ZK-OKV (MSN 39237)
NZ145 ARRIVING FROM AUCKLAND (AKL) 12 YEARS

PACIFIC CT/4B AIRTRAINER VH-YAB (MSN 085)

CATHAY PACIFIC BOEING 777-367 B-KPO (MSN 36160)
CX162 OVER FLYING BRISBANE FROM SYDNEY FOR HONG KONG

ASIANA BOEING 777-28E HL-7756 (MSN 30860)
OZ602 OVERFLYING BRISBANE FROM SYDNEY FOR SEOUL