About 8 hours after shadow tanker SMYRTOS was seized by UK three other shadow tankers made abrupt turns within an hour of each other, avoiding going through the English Channel. Home base called I assume. All ships in screenshots are sanctioned.

I had a bit of standby early in the morning, but slept through half of it. Once it finished, I went downtown #Stockholm to explore the #Vasa museum. It's been on my bucket list for quite some time!

Evening walk in Saint Peter Port. #layover

I had plenty of hotel nights in my thirty years in commercial flying so far, but I never, ever had a room with Swedish wall bars before...

One sunny evening a few days ago in Gdanks! Well worth getting GPS jammed all the way from cruising level to landing...

#OTD 1946: London Heathrow opened

Departing Luton on an EasyJet flight early in the morning is probably one of the most unpleasant travel experiences I had in my career. Feels like being cattle herded into the plane...

Inside Flying Groups hangar in Antwerp, aviation meets art.

Here's a fun fact that I just found out: over the last 365 days, I had 155 flights, but I flew only one city pair twice: Ibiza to Valencia. There is really no repetition in this job.

ITA Airways: We are not Alitalia. We even wrote born "Born in 2021" on our aircraft. Except that we use the same hubs, employ the same people, have aircraft with the old Alitalia livery & use the same IATA code “AZ”. Ah, and our slogan is "Inspired by Alitalia." So, not Alitalia at all, wink wink

Also, RFK, Jr., and his meddling minions at HHS are actively suppressing taxpayer-funded medical research data that, if published and promoted, could actually keep Americans healthy (which is supposed to be the goal of MAHA).

Quite interesting. The drone industry seems to be repeating the same pitfalls that once challenged commercial aviation: mode confusion, limited understanding of automation, and the instinct to rely on the autopilot instead of reverting to manual control. Was the pilot too busy demo-ing his drone?

Today's menu: A night flight.

British Airways offers 777/787 direct entry command and first officer positions based at ORD, no minimum flight hours there's only one tiny little catch... You won't fly.

Not exactly my kind of music, but still cool: suno.com/s/mLUruTv71K...

Okay, the flight deck windows may be dirty, but the Alps never disappoint. It was a glorious day for flying.

Our steed being pulled unto our stand. It's going to be a challenging day with two special airports, Lugano and Sion.

So I jumped on the bandwagon... Can anyone guess what I am working on? My wife calls it a middle aged man thing...

If Hungarians have voted in record numbers today to reject Orbán, despite years of media control & his attempts to tilt the playing field, then this is more than an election result. After so many setbacks for democracy, it’s finally a victory again - for all of us. Democracy hasn't become obsolete!

Dafür, dass die Drohnen in der Ukraine von „Hausfrauen“ produziert werden (A.Pappberger), zerlegen sie bei Manövern in Litauen das Hochwertgerät von Rheinmetall ziemlich präzise und ziemlich regelmäßig.

Made my day.

One more Global shot:

Brand new Global flying from Berlin to Oberpfaffenhofen today. Maybe not the best registration if you want to show off your aircraft in German-speaking parts of the world...

On this day in 2018, Elaine Herzberg became the first pedestrian killed in a self-driving car collision. The investigation revealed familiar patterns: reliance on automation, human factors, unforeseen scenarios, and organisational pressures. Listen: A Meditation on Automation

OTD in 2017, Rescue 116, a SAR helicopter on a support mission, crashed into Blackrock, an island on Ireland's west coast. All four crew members on board, Captain Dara Fitzpatrick, Chief Pilot Mark Duffy, winch operator Paul Ormsby, and winch man Ciarán Smith were killed.

Last week flights, Hey, @flatearthsociety.bsky.social how do you explain that I was able to do that (a triangle with three 90° angles) ? #G650 #bizjet aviation

I'm sat in the terminal waiting for my flight home and a women asked me whether I could keep an eye on her luggage while she went to the restroom. I was happy to help her out, but now I see her wandering around the terminal while on her phone. I wonder how long she expects me to guard her baggage?

OTD, 25 years ago today (9 Feb 2001): the USS Greenville collided with the Ehime Maru. Many factors were at play: Hazy weather, lost situational awareness, poor teamwork, and a rushed emergency ballast blow. Yet only one person took all the blame. 🎙️ open.spotify.com/episode/1Tgb...

I reached a milestone tonight: Marriott Gold Member for life - I spent 400 nights in Marriott hotels. Sitting alone at breakfast away from home, I wonder if that's a good thing or not.

Picard style tip: If you're balding, don't hide it. Own it.

UPS have announced they are retiring their MD11s

A propos penguins:

I designated today as my writing day and now it seems that the NTSB server is offline... 😑

"Humans as the glue that hold badly designed or poorly functioning systems together". (Paul Salmon, 2021)

Some more sightseeing in Istanbul: #professionaltourist

I don't do much flying this tour, but a good amount of sightseeing:

Simple, efficace... #HumourDouteux #AI

“🇩🇰Denmark has reduced its defence of 🇬🇱Greenland and isn’t doing enough” - left hand side 🇺🇸US bases & radar stations on Greenland during the #ColdWar and to the right today. Denmark has increased its defence capacity on Greenland during the last years, while US has done nothing

It’s genuinely wild that the United States spent decades building an elaborate rules-based international order which de facto cemented its permanent status as the dominant global hegemon, sustained by ideology rather than might, and now is just blowing it all up for literally no reason

The recent first-time ever activation of the Garmin Autoland was not due to pilot incapacitation, but a conscious decision by the crew: Garmin Autoland Activation Was Crew Decision share.google/9KaQmvdJXCxe...

IMHO, founders of ‘luxury airlines’ miss the point. The advantage of private jets aren't onboard amenities. It’s the flexibility, the short paths, and the privacy. That’s something scheduled airlines can’t offer. New luxury airline seeks top first class. share.google/6bP2QKhaZ1TJ...

Here I am, celebrating my first visit to Madrid Cuatro Ventos with a ride on a tow tug. I hadn't appreciated just how much flight school traffic there is at this place. We waited 25 minutes for our turn to depart - a bit like Frankfurt, just with SEPs!

Every airport seems to have one derelict aircraft, a Caravelle or 727, that's never going to fly again, but that they can't get rid off. I have never seen a seemingly untouched wreck just outside the airport fence though #Badajoz #LEZB #Aviation #accident

Helen Richey was the first woman pilot hired by a US commercial airline (1934). The all-male pilots’ union pressured the airline to remove her, claiming women were “temperamentally unfit” to fly in bad weather. She proved them spectacularly wrong & resigned in 1935. #CivilAviationDay #aviation

Ain't no mountain high enough

My final tour for this year starts right with an airfield that is new to me: Andorra La Seu d'Urgell #LESU.

Recently, I learnt that Rome Fiumicino has a dedicated Uber pickup point with large signs guiding passengers to the right spot. Also, it isn't the spot where Uber drivers pick up their clients.

Good morning Barcelona!