Platinum Airways says Oops!

Platinum Airways, the very virtual Open Skies airline, says Oops … at the end of the year. Inspired by the recent unexpected diversion of a Dreamliner in Wichita, its final Destination of the Week series remembers five flights that didn’t land at the filed airport.

As 2013 is drawing to a close, Platinum Airways’ Destination of the Week series is joining the party. The December series, Oops …, is a cheeky one: inspired by the recent remarkable landing of a Dreamlifter at Jabara Airport (KAAO), a small airfield near Wichita instead of at its filed airport (McConnell AFB or KIAB), DOTW goes back in time and retrieves five similar incidents. The most recent one on the December list is the C17 Globemaster who was filed to land at McDill AFB (KMCF), but touched down unannounced at Peter O’Knight (KTPF) on 20 July 2012. Our second Oops … takes us to Northern Ireland: on 29 March 2006, a Ryanair flight operated by Eirjet was supposed to land at Derry (EGAE), but the A320 made it to Shackleton Barracks (EGQB), an AFB near Ballykelly, Co Londonderry. Luckily, the passengers only had a 5 mi bus transfer. The next one is a Northwest A319, scheduled to land at Rapid City (KRAP) but touched down at Ellsworth AFB (KRCA) on 19 June 2004. Our fourth Oops … was a Saudi 747 destined for Madras International (VOMM), now known as Chennai International, but landed at Tambaran Air Force Station (VOTX) on 2 June 1997. And we end Oops … with the case of a United 757, destined for Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (TJSJ) near San Juan, Puerto Rico, but landed at Isla Grande Airport (TJIG) on 21 December 1991. We’ll try to recover as much material about these Oopses as possible, including videos, pictures and official reports. Charts, sceneries and AFCAD files will be offered where available. All flights will be allowed: you may land at the scheduled and final destination airport. In addition, pilots who fly from the Oops … airport to the filed airport qualify for a double bonus and may file this flight twice. We wish you … safe landings.

About Platinum Airways:
Keen to deliver on its mission to keep the fun in the hobby, Platinum Airways is probably the only virtual airline to combine an Open Skies policy, allowing its pilots to fly any mission of their choice with the aircraft of their choice at the time of their choice, with a strategic hub network. The carefully selected hubs, Newark (KEWR), Dallas-Fort Worth (KDFW), Vancouver (CYVR), Perth (YPPH) and Brussels (EBBR), should be attractive to a global membership. In addition, Platinum Airways offers its pilots an often cheeky Destination of the Week, Military and Cargo. Sticking to the KISS principle (Keep It Straight and Simple), Platinum Airways hosts an active forum and a screenshot of the week competition, with the winner providing the main picture on its home page for the next week.

For more information, please visit www.platinumairways.org or mail info [at] platinumairways.org.