Libyan Airlines to start Tripoli Benghazi Athens flights

Last updated 14/5/2009 19:20

Libyan Airlines (LN/LAA) is scheduled to start flights to Athens from May 7th. It will fly twice each week, on Mondays and Thursdays from TIP (Tripoli, Libya) and BEN (Benghazi, Libya). The exact schedule is as follows:
TIP - ATH
LN 152 08:00 - 10:00 ***4***
ATH - BEN
LN 155 11:15 - 12:30 ***4***
BEN - ATH
LN 154 08:45 - 10:00 1******
ATH - TIP
LN 153 11:15 - 13:15 1******
This basically means that the flight will be TIP - ATH - BEN on Thursdays and BEN - ATH - TIP on Mondays. The flight will be operated by a CRJ900.

Update 14/5/2009
The ATH-TIP-ATH flight costs 308 euro and the ATH-BEN-ATH costs 298 euro. Also added some photos from the inaugural flight of Libyan Airlines to Athens.
Thanks to MPE S.A. for the photos.

CRJ900 / 5A-LAA / inaugural flight to ATH on May 7th, taxing under the water canon salute


CRJ900 / 5A-LAA / inaugural flight to ATH on May 7th, about to park at stand A01


CRJ900 / 5A-LAA / arrival to ATH on the second day of scheduled flights (11/5/2009)

Basketball Final Four Charters to Berlin Programme

Last updated : May 3 , 2230

The following flights will depart on THU30APR :

OA165 ATH0845 - 1055TXL B734 (SX-BKF) -- the flight is rerouted, continues to FRA
OA177 ATH0945 - 1145TXL B734 (SX-BKM) -- the flight is rerouted, continues to MUC
OA161 ATH1100 - 1300TXL A343 (SX-DFC) -- increased capacity on OA scheduled flight
OK6525 ATH1420 - 1610SXF A321
MDJ421 ATH1600 - 1800SXF MD82
A34320 ATH1600 - 1905TXL B734
HJ4581 ATH1900 - 2100TXL MD83 -- operated by Sky Wings (SX-BTG)

On FRI01MAY the following flights are schedule to arrive at Berlin :

A34320 ATH0545 - 0745TXL B734
A34324 ATH0545 - 0745TXL B734
IMP161 ATH0800 - 0935SXF B742 (SX-TIE)
OK6547 ATH0800 - 0955SXF B734
MDJ421 ATH0800 - 1000SXF MD82
OA165 ATH0700 - 1005TXL A320 -- operated by Hellas Jet (SX-BVK) -- via Thessaloniki
ST8529 ATH0800 - 1005TXL B73G
A3852 ATH0845 - 1050TXL A321 -- increased capacity on A3 scheduled flight
OA177 ATH0935 - 1130TXL B733 -- operated by Seagle Air (OM-HLA) --flight is rerouted, continues to MUC
MPJ501 ATH1000 - 1150SXF MD83
OA165 ATH1005 - 1205TXL B734 -- flights is rerouted, continues to FRA
FB8033 ATH1100 - 1255SXF A319
A34322 ATH1315 - 1515TXL B734

The following flights are scheduled on MON04MAY from Berlin to Athens

SXF0100 - 0400ATH HJ4582 MD83 -- operated by Sky Wings
SXF0100 - 0445ATH ST2424 B73G
SXF0130 - 0530ATH A34827 B734
SXF0130 - 0530ATH MDJ422 MD82
SXF0230 - 0530ATH IMP162 B742
SXF0205 - 0600ATH OK6546 A319
SXF0215 - 0610ATH OK6524 A313
SXF0230 - 0630ATH A34825 A320
TXL0915 - 1305ATH OA 1162 A343 -- extra flight, also available for sale
TXL1035 - 1430ATH A3 4823 A320
TXL1055 - 1555ATH OA 164 A320 -- operated by Hellas Jet --via Thessaloniki
TXL1140 - 1510ATH A3 853 A321 -- increased capacity on A3 scheduled flight
TXL1220 - 1620ATH A3 4821 A320
TXL1255 - 1645ATH OA 168 B734 -- flight is rerouted --coming in from FRA
TXL1455 - 1845ATH OA 192 B734 -- flight is rerouted --coming in from STR
SXF1600 - 2000ATH MDJ421 MD82
SXF1800 - 2140ATH FB8036 B733
SXF0130 - 0430ATH MPJ503 MD83 (delayed till 1130)

Aegean Airlines reschedules Tirana flight

Aegean Airlines appears to have rescheduled Tirana flight as follows :

A3940 ATH0800 - 0815TIA 1
A3940 ATH0930 - 0945TIA 6
A3940 ATH1535 - 1550TIA 3457

A3941 TIA0855 - 1110ATH 1
A3941 TIA1030 - 1245ATH 6
A3941 TIA1630 - 1845ATH 3457

Service operates with Boeing 737-300

Aegean Airlines A321 registered SX-DVO named "Philoxenia"

Aegean Airlines Airbus A321 registered SX-DVO got it's name written on the nose. "Philoxenia" was given to it, at a ceremony in SKG (Thessaloniki, Greece) on May 6th 2008, but wasn't written on the plane until a year after.

Airbus A321 / SX-DVO / "Philoxenia" name added

Sky Wings MD-83 registered SX-BTF in Athens

Sky Wings MD-83 registered SX-BTF came back to Athens yesterday from Syria, where it is used by Cham Wings Airlines. Today it was operating for Olympic Airlines flights ΟΑ 233/234 to/from FCO (Rome, Italy), ΟΑ 910/911 to/from SKG (Thessaloniki, Greece) and OA 245/246 to/from MXP (Milan, Italy). It is scheduled to leave Athens tomorrow (25/4) at 04:00L for MMX (Malmo, Sweden) as SAW 1452

MD-83 / SX-BTF / back in Athens, operating for Olympic

Aegean Airlines takes delivery of the 4th A321 registered SX-DGA

Aegean Airlines last Airbus A321 (out of 4 ordered) registered SX-DGA (c/n 3878) is expected to be delivered today. It is scheduled to arrive in Athens around 2100L as A3 019 from XFW (Hamburg, Germany).

According to the airline schedule, aircraft will be deployed from 5th May operating the following flights :
A3 200 ATH0515 - 0615RHO 1234567
A3 650 RHO0655 - 0755ATH0900 - 1010FCO 1234567
A3 651 FCO1110 - 1405ATH1455 - 1555RHO 1234567
A3 652 RHO1635 - 1735ATH1825 - 1925FCO 1234567
A3 653 FCO2025 - 2335ATH 1234567

Thanks to Alex for the photo.

Airbus A321 / SX-DGA / the last A321 of Aegean parked in ATH

Athens Airways revised summer schedule 2009

The revised summer schedule of Athens Airways (as of 22 April) according to airline website is the following :

ZF400 ATH0710 - 0805AXD 123456
ZF404 ATH1830 - 1925AXD 123457
ZF401 AXD0835 - 0930ATH 123456
ZF405 AXD1955 - 2050ATH 123457

ZF672 ATH1000 - 1045ZTH 12456
ZF673 ZTH1115 - 1200ATH 12456

ZF622 ATH0940 - 1030HER 123456
ZF624 ATH1520 - 1610HER 1234567
ZF628 ATH2130 - 2220HER 123457
ZF623 HER1100 - 1150ATH 123456
ZF625 HER1640 - 1730ATH 1234567
ZF629 HER2250 - 2340ATH 123457

ZF412 ATH0950 - 1040SKG 1234567
ZF416 ATH1230 - 1320SKG 1234
ZF420 ATH2130 - 2220SKG 123457
ZF422 ATH2330 - 0020SKG 57
ZF413 SKG0710 - 0800ATH 12345
ZF413 SKG1110 - 1200ATH 6
ZF415 SKG1330 - 1420ATH 7
ZF417 SKG1630 - 1720ATH 13
ZF417 SKG1720 - 1810ATH 2457
ZF421 SKG2250 - 2340ATH 123457

ZF432 ATH1550 - 1640KVA 1234567
ZF433 KVA1710 - 1800ATH 1234567

ZF444 ATH1510 - 1605KSO 57
ZF446 ATH2050 - 2145KSO 13
ZF445 KSO1635 - 1730ATH 57
ZF447 KSO2215 - 2310ATH 13

ZF680 ATH1300 - 1345EFL 12357
ZF681 EFL1415 - 1500ATH 12357

ZF440 ATH1010 - 1100KZI 12345
ZF441 KZI1130 - 1220ATH 12345

ZF506 ATH1250 - 1325JMK 134567
ZF508 ATH2130 - 2205JMK 12457
ZF507 JMK1355 - 1430ATH 134567
ZF509 JMK2235 - 2310ATH 12457

ZF450 ATH0710 - 0755MJT 123456
ZF454 ATH1810 - 1855MJT 13
ZF454 ATH1850 - 1935MJT 2457
ZF451 MJT0825 - 0910ATH 123456
ZF455 MJT1925 - 2010ATH 13
ZF455 MJT2005 - 2050ATH 2457

ZF600 ATH0650 - 0750RHO 123456
ZF606 ATH1810 - 1910RHO 1234567
ZF601 RHO0820 - 0920ATH 123456
ZF607 RHO1940 - 2040ATH 1234567

ZF522 ATH1240 - 1325JTR 124567
ZF526 ATH2130 - 2215JTR 23457
ZF523 JTR1355 - 1440ATH 124567
ZF527 JTR2245 - 2330ATH 23457

ZF640 ATH0650 - 0735CHQ 123456
ZF646 ATH1840 - 1925CHQ 1234567
ZF641 CHQ0805 - ATH0850 123456
ZF647 CHQ1955 - ATH2040 1234567

ZF710 SKG1110 - 1225CHQ 57
ZF712 SKG1350 - 1505CHQ 24
ZF711 CHQ1255 - 1410SKG 57
ZF713 CHQ1535 - 1650SKG 24

ZF700 SKG1350 - 1435MJT 13
ZF702 SKG1440 - 1525MJT 57
ZF701 MJT1505 - 1550SKG 13
ZF703 MJT1555 - 1640SKG 57

UPDATE : Athens Airways shelves flights ZF446-447 due to lack of necessary lighting equipment at KSO surrounding mountains

Air Arabia starts Sharjah Athens flights today

Air Arabia (G9/ABY) started today its scheduled flights to Athens, the first European Union destination on its route network. The flights will be operated on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The inbound flight (G9 281) will depart from SHJ (Sharjah, UAE) at 18:55L and arrive in Athens at 22:45L. The return flight (G9 282) will depart from Athens at 23:30L and arrive in SHJ at 05:20L. As an exception to the above flight schedule, the inaugural flight arrived in Athens at 13:20L in order for the press conference and rest public relation events to take place in the noon and not at night.

Airbus A320 / A6-ABP / first arrival in Athens for Air Arabia

Pegasus Aviation MD-83 registered N668SH departed from Athens

Pegasus Aviation MD-83 registered N668SH (ex Euroair SX-BEV) departed from Athens on 12:00L today on it's way back to Pegasus Aviation in US. The routing that it will follow is:
ATH - KEF (Keflavík, Iceland)
KEF - YUL (Montreal, Canada)
YUL - TUS (Tucson, USA)
It is scheduled to arrive at Tucson on 01:00Z (19/4/2009)

Euroair MD-83 SX-BEV reregistered as N668SH

Euroair last MD-83 (ex SX-BEV) was reregistered yesterday (16/4/2009) as N668SH and is expected to leave Athens shortly on return to Pegasus Aviation.
Thanks to Alex for the photo.

MD-83 / N668SH / parked in Athens, expected to leave soon

Aegean Airlines took delivery of the 17th new A320 (SX-DVY)

Aegean Airlines took delivery of the 17th A320 yesterday, which is the last one out of the initial 17 ordered. The plane is registered SX-DVY (c/n 3850) and arrived as A3 018 from TLS at 20:40L last night.
Thanks to Alex for the photo.

Airbus A320 / SX-DVY / parked in ATH after it's last night arrival

Midex Airlines Boeing 747-200F registered A6-MDG in Athens

Midex Airlines Boeing 747-200F registered A6-MDG arrived yesterday at 18:40L in Athens from ORY (Orly, France) as MIX002. It stayed overnight in Athens and is schedule to depart later this week.
Thanks to Alex for the photo

Boeing 747-200F / A6-MDG / taxiing to stand A56 after landing

Thanks to Vasilis for the video

Boeing 747-200F / A6-MDG / taxiing to stand A56 after landing

EasyJet 8772 emergency diversion to Athens

EasyJet flight EZY8772 (calling as EZY772P) from HER (Heraklio, Greece) to LGW (Gatwick, UK) had to divert to ATH due to a technical issue with the pressurisation and air conditioning system. 137 passengers and 7 crew were on board. The plane involved is an Airbus A320 registered G-TTOJ. It landed safely on runway 21R in ATH on 14:57L. Prior to landing it went over KRO VOR (Karystos) and did a holding at 7000ft. A replacement Boeing 737 registered G-EZKB is scheduled to arrived from LTN (Luton, UK) at 20:50L in order to take the passengers.

Following is the EasyJet press release regarding the incident:

easyJet statement regarding diversion of flight EZY8772 to Athens

easyJet can confirm that flight EZY8772 on 14 April from Heraklion (Crete) to London Gatwick diverted to Athens Airport. The aircraft, an Airbus A320 with 137 passengers and 7 crew members on board, landed safely and uneventfully in Athens at 15.02 local time.

On route from Crete to London, the aircraft made a precautionary decent due to a technical issue with the pressurisation and air conditioning system. There was no requirement to deploy the passenger oxygen masks, and easyJet would like to stress that this was not an emergency landing, but merely a precautionary technical diversion.

Safety is easyJet’s number one priority and at no point of time was there any risk to the safety and well-being of our passengers. The passengers are currently at Athens Airport and as far as easyJet is aware none of them requires any medical assistance.

An aircraft is on route to Athens and is scheduled to leave Greece at 19.25 local time with the passengers of the diverted flight. The flight is estimated to arrive at London Gatwick at 21.55 UK time.

Thanks to Alex for the photo

Airbus A320 / G-TTOJ / parked in Athens after the emergency diversion

Hellenic Imperial Airways Boeing 747 registered SX-TID departing for Jakarta

Hellenic Imperial Airways Boeing 747 registered SX-TID departed Athens today at 17:20L as IMP473 for CGK (Jakarta, Indonesia). It is probably going to CGK for maintenance and painting at the Garuda Maintenance Facility Aeroasia (GMF Aeroasia). Both SX-TIE and SX-TIC have been in GMF Aeroasia for C-checks and repainting to the new colors of the company (SX-TIC is still with GMF and expected to be back in Athens soon).
Thanks to Alex for the photo

Boeing 747-200 / SX-TID / departing from rwy 21L on it's way to CGK

Euroair MD-83 registered SX-BEV back in Athens

Euroair last MD-83 registered SX-BEV arrived in Athens today at 15:20L from MMX (Malmo, Sweden) where it was stored since 14/10/2008 (see post). This plane will be reregistered to N668SH and go back to Pegasus Aviation, just as happened with the other MD-83 of Euroair (see post).

MD-83 / SX-BEV / arrived back to Athens after 6 months of storage in Malmo

Pakistan Air Force first Embraer Phenom 100 registered PT-ZYE (V-4101) in Athens

Pakistan Air Force (PAF) first Embraer Phenom 100 (out of 4 ordered) is underway for its delivery to Pakistan. Its long journey from Brazil to Pakistan requires several fuel stops, since its range is around 1100nm. The stops it made (since it can be tracked) are the following:
4/4/2009 GEO (Cheddi Jagan, Guyana) - SXM (Saint Martin, Netherlands Antilles)
5/4/2009 SXM - PLS (Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands) - FLL (Fort Lauderdale, USA)
6/4/2009 FLL - ORF (Norfolk, USA) - BGR (Bangor, USA) - YYR (Goose Bay, Canada)
7/4/2009 YYR - UAK (Narsarsuaq, Greenland)
9/4/2009 UAK - RKV (Reykjavík, Iceland) - WIC (Wick, Scotland)
10/4/2009 WIC - GVA (Geneva, Switzerland)
11/4/2009 GVA - ATH - SSH (Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt)
It arrived in Athens yesterday at 12:45L and departed at 15:30L. During the delivery journey and in order to fly quicker and easier (in means of bureaucracy) it had to fly as a private plane. That is why it has the Brazilian registration PT-ZYE (c/n 50000017) and no titles, logos or stickers of the PAF. It is expected to be registered as V-4101 upon delivery to Pakistan.

Embraer Phenom 100 / PT-ZYE / first Very Light Jet of PAF on a fuel stop in Athens

Seagle Air new A320 registered OM-HLD (ex CS-TNO)

Seagle Air new Airbus A320-200 registered OM-HLD arrived on Friday 10/4/2009 in Athens from NAP (Naples, Italy) on a charter flight as CGL4421 at 15:35L. It departed at 16:50L without passengers on a ferry flight to BTS (Bratislava, Slovakia) as CGL471P. This is the first (of two ordered) A320 for Seagle Air, an ex TAP Portugal (CS-TNO) plane.
Thanks to Alex for the photo

Airbus A320 / OM-HLD / new A320 for Seagle Air parked in ATH

Sun d'Or will operate 2 flights from Athens to Tel Aviv

According to Amadeus, Sun d'Or will operate two flights from Athens to Tel Aviv on Wednesday 15 April.

The flights will depart according to the following schedule :

2U 5544 1600 ATH-TLV 1755 with B757
2U 5546 1900 ATH-TLV 2055 with B757

On the inbound sector Amadeus shows only one flight :
2U 5543 1230 TLV-ATH 1440 with B757

JAL Boeing 747 in Athens for JTB charter in September

Last updated 14/9/2009 14:00

Japan Travel Bureau (JTB) has included Athens in it's summer 2009 charter flights schedule. Flights for the JTB will be operated by JAL Boeing 747-400. There will be only one charter flight to Athens from NRT (Tokyo, Japan). It is scheduled to arrive in Athens on Wednesday 16/9/2009 and depart on Thursday 24/9/2009. Approximately 350 people will be onboard this flight.

Update 14/9/2009
There is a slight change on the schedule mentioned above. The flight from NRT is expected to arrive on Wednesday 16/9 around 17:20L and the return flight was moved a day earlier, on Wednesday 23/9, with schedule departure time around 21:10L.

Gainjet B757-200 registered SX-RFA arrived in Athens

Gainjet's Boeing 757-200 registered SX-RFA arrived last night at 01:10L in Athens from MUC (Munich, Germany), where it departed from at 20:30Z. It is in full Gainjet colors and has blended winglets installed (as was seen in MUC a week ago, see post)
Thanks to Alex for the photo

Boeing 757-200 / SX-RFA / parked in Athens after it's arrival last night

Hellenic Imperial Airways Boeing 747's test flights

Hellenic Imperial Airways did a couple of test flights during the last few days. Specifically on 2/4/2009 the Boeing 747 registered SX-TID flew for about one hour and on 6/4/2009 the Boeing 747 registered SX-TIB flew for 30 minutes (15:45L - 18:15L) on the ATH-RIPLI-KEA-ATH route reaching FL190
Probably SX-TIB is being prepared to depart for CGK (Jakarta, Indonesia) for a C-Check at GMT Aeroasia.
Thanks to Panagiotis for the photo

Boeing 747-200 / SX-TIB / departing for a test flight from 21L

Aegean Airlines Athens - Paphos route schedule

Aegean Airlines announced on 19/3/2009 the addition of Paphos to it's Cyprus destinations, beginning on 15/4/2006 on a 3 times a week schedule.
The flights are not currently available for booking on their website, but they are expected to be added tomorrow.
The schedule of the ATH-PFO-ATH route is as follows:
Frequency: 3,5,7
ATH - PFO (A3 912)
09:30 - 11:00
PFO - ATH (A3 913)
11:45 - 13:20
Fridays and Sundays (5&7) the flight is operated with an Avro RJ100, while on Wednesdays it's operated with an Airbus A320.
On Sunday 19/4/2009 the flight is cancelled and a flight on Monday 20/4/2009 (operated by an Avro RJ100) is added as follows:
ATH- PFO (A3 912)
15:35 - 17:05
PFO - ATH (A4 913)
17:50 - 19:25
Also exceptionally the flight on Sunday 26/4/2009 will be operated by Airbus A320.

Emirates A340-500 used to Athens (A6-ERI)

Emirates flight 105/106 on 4/4/2009 was scheduled to be operated with an Airbus A340-300. Instead, due to a last minute change at Dubai airport, the Airbus A340-500 registered A6-ERI at the photo below was used!
Thanks to Alex for the photo!

Airbus A340-500 / A6-ERI / surprising visit in ATH

Air France 1532 emergency landing in Athens

Air France flight 1532 from CDG (Paris, France) to ATH had a problem with hydraulics while on final approach for landing and had to carry out a missed approach procedure. The plane then came back and did a safe landing but had to stop on the runway upon landing. Fire trucks, ambulances and airport rescue cars were waiting on the taxiway. Both engines were shutted down and a tug truck was used to help the plane vacate the runway and guide it to it's stand. The flight was operated by an Airbus A320 registered F-GHQK.

Update 7/4/2009
169 people were onboard the flight. The return flight was cancelled and the plane departed without passengers the next day at 08:00L as AF390V heading back to CDG (Paris, France). A video of the climb out on the missed approach procedure is also available below.

Update 8/4/2009
The problem was with the green hydraulic system which was lost during the gears extension prior to landing on runway 03L. The plane then executed a go around but the loss of this system prevented the gears from being retracted during the missed approach procedue (as seen in the video) because the gear retraction mechanism is operated by that hydraulic system.

Thanks to Alex for the photos and Vasilis for the video

Airbus A320 / F-GHQK / just vacated 03R on D9 and shut down the engines


Airbus A320 / F-GHQK / preparing to be towed to stand A44 for disembarkation and a thorough technical check


Airbus A320 / F-GHQK / during the climb on the missed approach procedure

Hellas Jet second A320 registered as SX-BVK

Hellas Jet Airbus A320 that arrived in ATH on 21/3/2009 under the registration N9070N (see post), was reregistered today to SX-BVK (as expected). This is the second A320 for Hellas Jet at the moment. The other one (SX-BVL) is currently wet leased to Olympic Airlines (see post).
Thanks to Alex for the photo

Airbus A320 / SX-BVK / reregistered to SX-BVK

Gainjet B757-200 registered SX-RFA parked in Munich

Gainjet's Boeing 757-200 registered SX-RFA is currently parked in MUC (Munich, Germany) on it's full Gainjet livery and with blended winglets installed.
Short history of this plane until having the colors and winglets:
During October 2008 it was ferried in Air Bashkortostan colors (ex EI-LTO) from DME (Moscow, Russia) to NWI (Norwich, England), via MUC, GVA (Geneva, Switzerland) and MSE (Kent, England), where it was repainted to Gainjet's colors. It was then ferried back to MUC in order to have it's blended winglets installed. By mid-November it was ready and it is parked there since then.
Thanks to Stefan for the photo

Boeing 757-200 / SX-RFA / parked in MUC in full Gainjet colors and with blended winglets

Continental Airlines flight 84 medical diversion to Athens

Continental Airlines flight 84 from EWR (Newark, New York) to TLV (Tel Aviv, Israel) had to divert to Athens due to a passenger having a medical problem. The flight was operated by a Boeing 777-200 registered N78009. The flight passed over Athens at 11:10L heading to TLV cruising at FL370. It then turned back and landed at around 12:20L on runway 03R. An ambulance was waiting at the stand and took the passenger to hospital for further exams and treatment. The plane departed around 13:30L heading to TLV.
Thanks to Alex for the photo

Boeing 777-200 / N78009 / ready to be pushed back from the stand, after the disembarkation of the passenger in need of medical assistance