21.04.2021 - 17:58 UTC
TUI fly (Netherlands) (OR, Amsterdam Schiphol) has joined its sister carrier TUI fly (Belgium) (TB, Brussels National) and resumed scheduled B737-8 operations on April 1, 2021, currently deploying two of its three units of the type.
The carrier's first B737 MAX 8 scheduled flights were from Amsterdam Schiphol to Malaga, operated by PH-TFO (msn 44598), Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows. TUI fly (Netherlands)'s third B737-8 remains stored at Amsterdam airport.
According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, TUI fly (Netherlands) is due to take another two B737 MAX 8s, including one shortly and one in 2023.
The Belgian sister carrier, owned by TUI Group, was the first European airline to resume B737 MAX operations on February 17, 2021. Ten B737-8s operated by TUI Airways (including four delivered since the type's ungrounding) and two operated by TUI fly Nordic remain inactive and operate only test flights. TUI fly (Germany) does not operate any B737 MAX.
04.03.2021 - 07:19 UTC
Icelandair (FI, Reykjavik Keflavik) has announced it will resume B737-8 operations on March 8, 2021, becoming the third European airline to do so after TUI fly (Belgium) and Smartwings (Czechia).
Ahead of the planned restart, the Icelandic flag carrier ferried two of its B737-8s, TF-ICN (msn 44356) and TF-ICO (msn 44358), back to Reykjavik Keflavik from storage at Lleida. It initially plans to use just two aircraft on its scheduled network, with the first flight slated for Copenhagen Kastrup.
A further two B737-8s and Icelandair's only B737-9 remain in storage at Lleida. Its fifth B737-8s has been stored at Reykjavik Keflavik airport.
According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, besides the six B737 MAX already delivered, Icelandair expects a further six units (three -8s and three -9s) on order from lessors with deliveries scheduled between March 2021 and February 2022. It leases all of its already delivered B737 MAX from SMBC Aviation Capital (three -8s), Bocomm Leasing (two -8s), and BOC Aviation (the -9).
19.02.2021 - 15:12 UTC
TUI fly (Belgium) (TB, Brussels National) became the first airline east of the Atlantic to resume scheduled B737-8 operations on February 17, 2021.
OO-MAX (msn 44588), one of four B737 MAX 8s operated by TUI Group's Belgian unit, was reactivated for a test flight around Brussels National on February 15 ahead of its first revenue service to Malaga and Alicante on February 17, Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows.
Since March 15, 2019, the aircraft had been inactive with its last flight before grounding from Alicante to Brussels.
The carrier's three other B737 MAX 8s remain grounded, alongside the six that TUI Airways operates, TUI fly (Netherlands)'s trio, and TUI fly Nordic's pair.
Although the European Union Aviation Safety Administration (EASA) consented to return the B737 MAX to service in late January, albeit under strict conditions, the only other operator besides TUI fly to announce MAX resumption plans has been Smartwings (Czechia) (QS, Prague Václav Havel) which plans to resume commercial B737 MAX 8 flights...
19.01.2021 - 05:40 UTC
Austria’s Innsbruck Kranebitten Airport will close from September 20 to October 18, 2021, to allow for a EUR18.8 million (USD20.2 million) overhaul of its only runway, 08/26, with preparation work beginning in March and April 2021.
The airport's largest construction project to date will involve removing about 14cm of asphalt from the runway totalling around 40,000 tonnes and re-applying 12cm over an area measuring about 140,000m², roughly the size of 19 soccer fields, technical manager Alexander Strasshofer explained in a statement. Austria’s largest construction company, Strabag SE, had been commissioned to carry out the project. Electrical installations near the runway would also be modernised, and the runway lighting would be converted to energy-saving LED technology.
Renovation of the runway was urgently needed and future investment, commented airport manager, Marco Pernetta. The airport is 581,25m above mean sea level (MSL) with a 2,000m long and 45m wide runway. The runway substructure dates back to the 1950s/60s. Thin layers of asphalt were applied every 10 to 15 years, but these were now in poor condition, necessitating a thorough...
Editorial Comment: Corrected construction work timings to be from 06:00 to 22:00 as opposed to 06:00 to 10:00. - 19.01.2021 - 06:37 UTC
