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Latest Episodes:

AvTalk Episode 392: Certified at last Oct 23, 2026

Show notes

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, we’re onboard the final Lufthansa A340-600 flight with a few hundred of our closest friends. Boeing’s largest 737 is finally certified by the FAA nearly 10 years after being announced by the the airframer. And third quarter earnings reports from airlines have been mostly positive, but all are warning of trouble ahead as we close out the year.

Helpful links for this week’s episode

Check back soon for a transcript of this episode.

The post AvTalk Episode 392: Certified at last appeared first on Flightradar24 Blog.

AvTalk Episode 391: A critical path faces its greatest challenge yet Oct 16, 2026

Show notes

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, flights in Saudi Arabia are facing intense disruption following a series of strikes by the Houthi’s on Saudi aviation infrastructure. Riyadh Airport is closed until at least 18 October after a strike on a terminal building killed at least 12 people and injured hundreds more. Airports like Jeddah and Dammam have also faced disruptions and airports in the southwest of the country have been closed this week.

Elsewhere, Israel is banning airline crews from a long list of countries from flying to/from Israel, leaving some airlines in the lurch.

Retirement flights

Austrian airlines is preparing to retire its 767 fleet at the end of next month. The airline has operated the type across five decades and this week we’re joined this week by two people who know the aircraft better than most. Pilot Christian Flatschart and Purser Thomas Lechner share their stories from their time on the 767. Join the farewell journey in the airline’s official WhatsApp group and join the final fan flight on 1 December.

And this weekend, Lufthansa will operate its final A340-600 flight. LH419 from Washington-Dulles to Frankfurt will depart on 18 October. We’ll have full report from onboard next week.

Check back soon for a transcript of this week’s episode.

The post AvTalk Episode 391: A critical path faces its greatest challenge yet appeared first on Flightradar24 Blog.

AvTalk Episode 390: Running a decade behind to avoid the glitches Oct 09, 2026

Show notes

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, the latest on the investigation into flydubai flight 1073. The NTSB releases its preliminary report on the 767 runway overrun in Miami last month. The Houthis warn airlines against using Saudi Arabian airspace. And airlines are still using decade-old software to avoid glitches in the 737.

Keep up with the stories in this week’s epsiode

0:00–02:12 Opening / Plans for Lufthansa’s final A340-600 flight
2:12–05:00 Planes on a train
5:00–11:11 flydubai incident update — investigation, captain’s recovery, and future aviation safety possibilities
11:11–17:16 NTSB preliminary report on the 21 Air 767 runway overrun in Miami
17:16–20:27 Biman Bangladesh is on a shopping spree
20:27–23:01 Norse cuts its transatlantic network (even more) and shifts capacity to Thailand
23:01–25:39 Houthi threats to Saudi airspace and disruption around Riyadh
25:39–30:44 British Airways’ A380 set for the world’s largest business class cabin
30:44–32:22 JetBlue gets Spirit’s LaGuardia slots with some conditions
32:22–34:17 JetBlue’s disappearing-reappearing flights and the scramble to restore bookings
34:17–35:21 airBaltic restructuring and proposed workforce cuts
35:21–40:58 Boeing 737 MAX software problems, certification delays, and airline workarounds
40:58–42:32 Widerøe extends its Dash 8 fleet’s life through 2035
42:32–43:59 KLM’s first A350 and the wait for business class seat approval
43:59–47:37 Korean Air–Asiana merger scrutiny — Jeju needs more seats!
47:37–49:10 A hot-air balloon lands behind a Delta flight in Albuquerque, internet camaraderie ensues
49:10–52:16 Flightradar24’s new automated Heathrow live stream with BigJetTV

Click here for a transcript of this episode.

The post AvTalk Episode 390: Running a decade behind to avoid the glitches appeared first on Flightradar24 Blog.

AvTalk Episode 389: flydubai flight FZ1073 Oct 02, 2026

Show notes

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, we unpack what we know so far about flydubai flight FZ1073, what happened to the aircraft itself, and what might lie ahead for any investigation.

Also this week, German investigators find brake application on the Vietnam Airlines 787 in Munich, the Airbus A350F makes its first flight, Alaska Airlines makes a big push toward more premium cabins (with a big caveat), and in a twist we don’t think anyone expected, NASA is in the early stages of returning an SR-71 to the skies.

2:50–flydubai FZ1073 discussion

Click here for a transcript of this episode.

The post AvTalk Episode 389: flydubai flight FZ1073 appeared first on Flightradar24 Blog.

AvTalk Episode 388: The difference a millisecond makes Sep 25, 2026

Show notes

On this week’s AvTalk, we’re back from Dorkfest/SpotLAX with a busy week of news. We’re digging into the ATC failure that snarled traffic in the northeast US to start the week. And the preliminary technical report from NATS on the 8 September outage of the London Control Area says that one millisecond made all the difference between normal operation and the the cancellation of 2,000 flights. Plus Michael O’Leary gives his thoughts.

And we have a new kind of show notes this week thanks to some feedback from long-time listeners. Once you click play on the podcast, you can click the time code to jump straight to that section. Links to supporting materials are in the section title.

0:00–01:45 Opening / A380 episode-number discussion
1:45–05:38 Cranky Dorkfest and SpotLAX recap
5:38–09:38 FAA SMART system and machine learning vs AI
9:38–14:35 PHL TRACON outage — those cables aren’t buried that deep
14:35–19:10 NATS September 8 outage: preliminary technical report
19:10–23:26 Prestwick connectivity outage and airline reaction with a choice quote from Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary
23:26–26:52 GAO report on aviation communications security
26:52–29:19 Embraer E2 GPS problems — Azul, Porter, others?
29:19–33:09 KLM power-bank fire and inconsistent airline battery rules
33:09–35:04 Beijing airspace restrictions — A 600 km wide safety zone
35:04–38:20 Nice runway investigation yields proposed safety improvements
38:20–38:56 Turkish Airlines 737 MAX order
38:56–40:37 Istanbul adds another runway
40:37–42:35 Boeing 777 freighter emissions waiver
42:35–43:35 777X engine mid-seal durability and ETOPS certification
43:35–44:20 Boeing engineering union contract
44:20–45:11 Icelandair mechanics’ “indefinite” strike
45:11–48:17 JSX puts down a deposit on the Heart Aerospace ES-36
48:17–49:20 A321XLR wing becoming standard across A321neo models
49:20–50:14 Qantas Project Sunrise New York announcement — finally
50:14–53:32 Picasso Pilot flight-path artwork

Click here for a transcript of this episode.

The post AvTalk Episode 388: The difference a millisecond makes appeared first on Flightradar24 Blog.

AvTalk Episode 387: The CVR makes it worse Sep 18, 2026

Show notes

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, Ian and Jason prepare to head to Los Angeles for the annual CrankyFlier Dorkfest and NYC Aviation’s SpotLAX events. If you’re in town, stop by and say hello.

But before we take off, the NTSB released a partial summary of the cockpit voice recorder from the 21 Air 767 that overran the runway in Miami. Far from providing clarity, the summary only adds to the questions raised about the pilots’ actions in the final minutes of the flight.

A news helicopter covering a fatal car collision crashed in Los Angeles, killing the pilot and reporter onboard the aircraft, as well as one person on the ground.

Virginia Senators Time Kaine and Mark Warner have introduced a bill to limit flights at DCA in Washington DC. We discuss why the DCA Air Safety Act has a long, uphill battle for passage.

A GAO report on the FAA’s recent push to modernize the nation’s air traffic control systems calls for greater cost and schedule planning, noting that there are 11,389 individual project schedules.

And you’re going to be hearing a lot about “capacity” over the next few months. What that means for airlines—and airfares.

Click here for a transcript of this episode.

The post AvTalk Episode 387: The CVR makes it worse appeared first on Flightradar24 Blog.

AvTalk Episode 386: The Miami runway overrun Sep 11, 2026

Show notes

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, the more we learn about last Sunday’s fatal runway overrun in Miami, the more confusing the circumstances become. We break down what we know from the ADS-B data and the limited flight data recorder information released by the NTSB thus far.

A computer failure at NATS leads to the cancellation of 1500 flights over two days in the UK, while Anak Krakatau’s eruption halts flights in Jakarta.

One of only two active DC-8s suffers a runway overrun and gear collapse in Kinshasa. We learn about Honeywell’s Mag Mav, Italian passengers and the danger of steep stairs, and the Swiss transport museum needs to figure out where its going to put a retired A340.

And United’s planned 9/11 flypast in Denver is getting push back. (Ed. note: the flypast was canceled after recording of this episode)

Click here for a transcript of this week’s episode.

The post AvTalk Episode 386: The Miami runway overrun appeared first on Flightradar24 Blog.

AvTalk Episode 385: “Looking into” that low flypast Sep 04, 2026

Show notes

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, we discuss the low Airlink flypast in Cape Town, what’s been lost in the discussion so far, and what the South African civil aviation authority has to say about it.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy warns airlines to avoid Russian airspace as drones play an ever increasing role in the war between Russia and Ukraine. German authorities blame Russia for the recent explosive-laden drone in Leipzig.

The FAA is moving to fire a pair of controllers who left the La Guardia tower early on the day of the crash between an Air Canada CRJ and ARFF truck. But the situation isn’t as straightforward as it seems.

South Korean officials move to charge seven officials from the transport ministry with falsifying documents after the Jeju Air crash in Muan.

And US airlines continue the race to be as premium as possible.

Helpful links for this week’s episode

Click here for a transcript of this week’s episode.

The post AvTalk Episode 385: “Looking into” that low flypast appeared first on Flightradar24 Blog.

AvTalk Episode 384: And we’re back Aug 28, 2026

Show notes

After a week away, there’s much to discuss on this week’s episode of AvTalk. We start in Munich, where the Runway 26L took a great deal of abuse. We discuss the Vietnam Airlines 787 runway overrun and tail strike, followed two days later by a Lufthansa A380 touching down before the threshold on the same runway.

We also examine what happened aboard Air India A320neo VT-EXO, which briefly lost pressure across all three hydraulic systems, causing an upset that injured nearly two dozen people. Plus, American puts two aircraft with the same call sign on the same frequency—again—and investigators say an unqualified passenger may have been flying a Phenom 100 that overran a wet runway.

Elsewhere, a ramp worker is killed during the pushback of a French bee A350 in Montreal, a Frankfurt Airport employee dies from a rare case of malaria, and a Qantas A380 flies to Dallas and back with a maintenance light left inside its wing. We also discuss rising runway incursions in Australia, the return of the Delta–Aeromexico joint venture, Eurowings’ new Premium BIZ seats, the FAA’s war on plastic cups, United’s orphaned 737 MAX 10 seats, and American’s plan to bring seatback screens back—eventually.

Please click here for a transcript of this week’s episode.

The post AvTalk Episode 384: And we’re back appeared first on Flightradar24 Blog.

AvTalk Episode 383: Goodyear Blimp Chief Pilot Michael Dougherty Aug 14, 2026

Show notes

On this episode of AvTalk, we’re joined by Goodyear Blimp Chief Pilot Michael Dougherty to learn more about his unique role in the aviation industry.

Also on this week’s episode, German investigators continue looking for answers for how a drone was able to make it onto the Leipzig Airport ramp. FedEx paints a 777 in a special retro livery to coincide with the renaming of Memphis Airport in honor of FedEx founder Frederick W. Smith.

Apollo Global Management wins the battle for easyJet and Air Baltic will shrink its fleet for stability. A BEA report on an incident involving an Air France A320 showcases the dangers of turbulence. And Iberia’s special flight gives us a unique perspective on the total solar eclipse.