The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has thinned out the movement in the skies, but brought along a multitude of one of a kind flights. From breaking records, to sharing love and gratitude, to landings off the beaten track – below are the TOP 5 flights that amazed this week.
1. Visiting the busiest airports
An unusual route of a Cessna 172 served an eerie reminder of the strangeness of times under the coronavirus lockdowns.
The small airplane raised eyebrows when it embarked on a touch-and-go tour across New York’s busiest airports; visiting Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), LaGuardia Airport (LGA), and finally, John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), according to flightradar24.com.
The Cessna 172 made a touch and go at EWR airport, a touch and go at LGA airport and finally a touch and go at JFK airporthttps://t.co/6Bvhz5KKs9 pic.twitter.com/lUMaa48Kf9
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) April 23, 2020
2. Turkish Airways draws Turkish flag in the sky
On April 23, 2020, Turkish Airlines made a special flight TK1920. The airline’s Boeing 777-300 drew a crescent and a star ‒ symbols found on the country’s national flag. As the flight number suggests, the initiative marked a special day in Turkey’s history. Its Parliament ‒ the Grand National Assembly of Turkey ‒ was founded on April 23, 1920.
Turkish Airlines has created the world’s largest national flag in the sky, to celebrate April 23rd, Turkey’s National Sovereignty and Children’s Day.
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) April 23, 2020
Playback https://t.co/r6JEA1srVX#TK1920 pic.twitter.com/ubb8wgqGzc
3. Icelandair Boeing 767 delivers cargo love
Having almost completed a 9,007 kilometers 13 hours journey from Shanghai, China, Icelandair pilots were spotted taking their time prior to landing in Reykjavik, Iceland. Instead, the Boeing 767 flight path drove a huge heart over the country’s capital. On April 19, 2020, the flight FI1725 brought medical supplies to Iceland, needed for the country’s coronavirus COVID-19 response effort.
A Boeing 767 from Icelandair has drawn a big heart over Reykjavik in Iceland, on arrival from China with medical supplieshttps://t.co/KzbjFK1Iqe pic.twitter.com/97Dlp5eynE
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) April 19, 2020
4. Antonov An-225 Mriya’s world record-breaking flight(s)
When it landed in Paris, France, on April 19, 2020, the largest aircraft in the world Antonov An-225 Mriya apparently broke yet another world record. The super-transporter brought over 1,000 cubic meters of cargo, including eight million masks destined to fight the coronavirus epidemic from China. Thus, the fight ADB3350 marked the largest volume ever transported by air, according to the company that chartered the flight.
However, it must be noted that Mriya’s owner, the Antonov Airlines, made the same claim about a previous An-225 flight on April 14, 2020. Also carrying medical supplies from China, the transporter landed in Warsaw, Poland.
5. Visiting one of the most remote places on Earth
On April 20, 2020, Titan Airways Airbus A318 landed in Saint Helena Island, bringing medical supplies to the remote island in the South Atlantic Ocean.
The only scheduled passenger service to the island is operated by a South African airline Airlink. But in the light of the coronavirus outbreak, it suspended all flights, halting the route to St. Helena from March 26. Airlink plans to resume the service on April 25, which would mean that the island was cut off for a month ‒ making Titan Airways cargo delivery flight truly one of the kind.