Originally Posted by
LTNman
G
Just checked Flightradar 24, with the aircraft G-TUIE departing very late and with around a half hour to go before landing the 787 is indeed flying non stop to Barbados from Luton. I am assuming that with it being close to Christmas the flight would have been full.
Edit, just landed after a flight of 8 hours 15 minutes.
I think the same TUI 787-8's also operate non-stop to the US and Caribbean from Bristol, which has an even shorter runway than Luton, but good to know the airport's infrastructure can support today's newer modern aircraft on these longer routes!
Was this a cruise ship flight? I'm guessing if so, there was a need to get these passengers expedited out to the ship as quick as possible, before the ship departed.
I think the 787-9 might have been a bit more of a struggle to operate non-stop from the airport.
TUI are in a fortunate position with it being winter where a lot of the fleet is not in as much demand, as during the summer and can support these extra flights while the LGW base was grounded.