Very good first flight back, posn from Faro and then a retune with Pax out. be good to see them keep it going. And hopefully Gradually TUI add a gradual service from here.

RYR increasing STN schedules with 24 departures & 6 arrivals to 0820 this morning.

More interesting widebodies yesterday included a "Reunion" B788 to Hangar12...also 2 C17 Globemasters` USAF arriving in short order in support of POTUS.

Ryanair will have over 100 flights inbound and outbound tomorrow. A massive increase to flights from what we’ve had operating in previous weeks.

Also we are due to have an Airbus A330-700 Beluga in
tomorrow from TLS at 09:30 and will preform 4 touch and go’s. This was booked for today 1st but was cancelled.

TUI
 

FRatSTN

Sharm el Sheikh has been added for Summer 22 which fills the previously missing Sunday afternoon rotation. The route is actually planned to start on 7 Nov as part of the Winter 21 season.

Satelite 1 reopening?
 

With LS planning on reinstating their STN based operations from later this month, will satellite 1 be reopening (in addition to the transit system)?. Saying that, I reckon the more likely scenario will be that the upper level of satellite 2 (gates 20-39) is reopened and LS operations are temporarily based there, perhaps with the use of the lower level (gates 81-88)? Presumably FR still have plenty of room given current schedules in satellite 3, essentially leaving all remaining airlines usually based in satellite 1 in satellite 2.

SAT1 will not be reopened for the time being. Jet2 have pushed back planned recommencing of operations to the 1st July now.
The TTS will begin running for passengers again tomorrow (Monday 7th) for Gates 20-39 (SAT2) only, the TTS will stop at 1-19 (SAT1) but barriers and signage is in place to stop passengers accessing the upper levels.
The plan is for SAT1 to reopen when Jet2 recommence operations, but this will be dependent on which destination they fly to, to begin with as if it’s not substantial amount of flights, then the reopening of SAT1 would be non beneficial for the airport point of view.

Revealed in the latest consultations/proposals for improving flow into STN & LTN through the present common airspace & holding stacks STN will retain the two currently shared stacks at LOREL & ABBOT for its own exclusive use & LTN will have one...unnamed at present above Huntingdon.

That has always been on the cards which has been published by NATS & CAA for a few years now https://consultations.airspacechange...uton_arrivals/

Yes of course but possibly another step toward fruition...As indicated has been mooted for a long time.

PLAY Iceland are due to open a route from Stanstedto Reykjavik-Keflavik in 8 days time. Fares are currently rather low

I know EU261 exists.... but anyone have thoughts as to whether this route really will start on 24 June or might instead be delayed ?

I wouldn’t have said the fares are stupidly low, about £80 minimum with no proper carry-on but mostly £20-30 more than that. Hopefully with Iceland being green list and still accepting us this will do OK particularly because more and more people will be meeting the two-jab requirement.

ive seen very little publicity or marketing for Play. Noone will have heard of them, which in the best of times would not be great. It was snowing in Iceland the other day which is not attractive in summer. Plus others may think its just Wow MkII. I suspect very low loads.

Unsurprisingly Emirates now postponed until 27 March 22.

Deliveries...

Ultimately boosting STN...

RYR's Ist "gamechanger" B737-8200 enroute DUB from Seattle.
PLAY's 1st A321NEO delivered into KEF yesterday ready for ops with its very red media grabbing livery.

Although summer is peak season and the only time the whole country is accessible, pre-Covid it was served by I think 5-6 airlines from a number of UK airports plus cruises. Perhaps not everyone’s cup of tea if you want a hot beach but clearly a lot of people are more than happy to go

Totally agreed..."snowing in Iceland the other day" is rather futile in arguing the case against a schedule.

I think that there will be lots going to look at the lava spreading over the land only a few km from Reykjavik.

KEF is well served from LTN by the better-known Wizz and EZY. I have received emails from Play, but with little detail, and nothing to recommend them over competitors.

STN has always been a traditional terminal for Iceland long before Wizz/EZY so perhaps it may come down to catchments.
STN covers much that LTN does not of course.

Correct - and for a number of years it was one of only three departure points to KEF in the UK, the others being Heathrow and Glasgow. I flew on Go first time I went. At that time there was an extensive charter operation with the likes of LTU, Air Berlin, Aerolloyd but the UK operators did nothing. It’s only in the last ten years or so that options and competition have ramped up, probably unsustainably.

The risk isn’t people not wanting to go, but Iceland banning us from entering