IndiGo Airbus A321 Suffers Tail Strike During Landing at Bengaluru

An IndiGo Airbus A321 has suffered a tail strike while attempting a second landing at Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport, with all passengers and crew safely disembarking following the incident. 

The aircraft was operating IndiGo flight 6E 6542 from Guwahati (GUA/MGGT) to Bengaluru (BLR/VOBL) on Sunday when the incident occurred during what was reported to be very gusty weather conditions. According to IndiGo, the aircraft experienced what the airline described as an “abnormal runway contact” while landing at Bengaluru. Reports indicate that the crew had to discontinue the initial approach and conduct a go-around before making another approach to the airport. The aircraft subsequently landed safely. Fortunately, there were no reported injuries among passengers or crew.

Following the incident, the aircraft was taken out of service and is undergoing detailed maintenance inspections. IndiGo said the aircraft will return to service only after the necessary inspections and clearances have been completed. India's aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has also begun investigating the incident.

So, what is a tail strike?
A tail strike occurs when the rear underside of an aircraft makes contact with the runway during take-off or landing. Although aircraft are designed to withstand certain levels of contact, a tail strike can potentially cause structural damage to the aircraft's rear fuselage or other components. For that reason, an aircraft involved in a suspected tail strike is normally removed from service and thoroughly inspected before flying again.

The Airbus A321, being the longest member of the A320 family, has a relatively small margin between its normal landing attitude and the angle at which the rear fuselage can contact the runway. Tail strikes can also occur during a go-around, when an aircraft rapidly changes its attitude and begins climbing after the crew has decided that a landing cannot safely be completed.

Airbus has previously highlighted the increased risk of a tail strike when a go-around is initiated close to the ground. The Bengaluru occurrence also comes after another IndiGo A321 was involved in a tail-strike incident at Gorakhpur approximately only a month earlier. That aircraft had conducted a go-around during its approach before landing safely. Subsequent inspection reportedly found minor damage around the tail area. 

Another reminder that even a routine landing can involve a highly demanding sequence of decisions and actions by an airline's flight crew.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: IndiGo

Code: 6E/IGO

Aircraft: Airbus A321-251NX

Registration: VT-NHP

Serial Number: 12895

Engines: 2 x CFMI LEAP-1A32

First Flew: November 2025

Age: 10 Months

Vietjet registers first aircraft in Australia

Vietjet has registered an aircraft in Australia, in the strongest sign yet that it is planning to launch a domestic subsidiary.

VH-T8A, (MSN 63879) a Boeing 737 MAX 8– owned by VietJet Aviation – has appeared on the CASA register as of the 23rd of September, with a registered operator based in Melbourne under the name “Cherrie Aviation”. CASA data indicates that the aircraft is a 737 MAX 8 manufactured this year.

In a statement, a Vietjet spokesperson told Australian Aviation that the airline has “agreed to lease the registered aircraft to an Australian entity”.

“The Australian entity is currently seeking regulatory approval to operate aircraft in Australia,” the spokesperson said.

Speculation has swirled around VietJet’s possible entry into the Australian domestic market following reports in The Australian Financial Review earlier this year that the Vietnamese low-cost carrier had applied for an air operator’s certificate.

According to anonymous sources cited by the masthead, Vietjet has an eye to operate in Australia with a fleet of 10 aircraft. The carrier had reportedly previously considered buying Bonza after the failed domestic airline collapsed into administration in 2024.

Speaking to Australian Aviation for a recent feature, Steve Leib, associate professor of aviation at CQ University, said a tilt by Vietjet would “resolve a lot of the threats to a new entrant establishing themselves and growing”.

“We’re talking about a new entrant with a new AOC. It’s an Australian airline, but it is backed by Vietjet, and perhaps its design is a product of VietJet’s model,” he said.

Industrial Unrest Grows Across Virgin Australia and Jetstar

Australia’s aviation industry is experiencing increasing industrial tensions, as employees at Virgin Australia and Jetstar push back over wages, poor working conditions, and scheduling issues.

At Virgin Australia, cabin crew have increasingly been declining requests to work on their scheduled days off, with the union representing flight attendants raising concerns about long duty periods, fatigue, rostering and the compensation offered for additional work.

The dispute has already had an impact on passengers, with around 30 Virgin Australia flights reportedly cancelled each week after the airline was unable to find enough cabin crew to operate some services.

Cabin crew representatives are calling for shorter duty limits and better compensation, arguing that repeatedly asking exhausted crew to give up their days off is placing additional pressure on an already demanding job.

Virgin Australia disputes the characterisation of the disruption as industrial action and says discussions with unions over a new enterprise agreement are continuing.

Meanwhile, Jetstar is facing its own industrial dispute involving around 1,000 airport and customer-service workers.

Workers have taken targeted industrial action, including refusing to collect certain passenger fees such as excess-baggage weight, seat-change charges and flight changes. Their union is seeking improved wages, penalty and overtime rates, leave provisions and other workplace conditions.

Jetstar says it has offered improvements to pay and allowances and has measures in place to minimise disruption to passengers. While the disputes at the two airlines involve different groups of employees, they highlight a common issue facing the aviation industry: keeping aircraft flying requires thousands of people working demanding and often unpredictable hours — and those workers are increasingly demanding that their pay and conditions reflect the pressures of the job.

For passengers, the concern is simple. If these disputes continue to escalate, the effects could eventually be felt through more cancelled flights, changed schedules and delays.

The coming weeks will be closely watched as airlines and their employees attempt to reach agreements without further disruption to the travelling public.

Both airlines have achieved record-breaking profits, and the staff feel their hard work and dedication played a major role in this success. They are now demanding better pay and incentives.

Cathay Pacific Drops Cairns - Hong Kong Route

Cathay Pacific has just announced it won’t be returning to Cairns this year, dropping its seasonal flights to Hong Kong that typically operated during the busy December to February period.

The airline has cited “commercial” reasons for dropping the route.

“Cathay Pacific regularly reviews its schedule and network to best align with market demand,” said Tom Kennedy, Cathay’s Regional Head of Sales for Southeast Asia & Oceania.

"We remain committed to the Australian market and will continue to offer direct services to Hong Kong from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.”

When announcing the route’s return for December 2025 to February 2026, the airline said it was expected to inject an estimated $18 million into the local economy in visitor expenditure alone and would also bolster valuable direct export channels from Queensland.

“Our Cairns seasonal service saw close to 16,000 customers travel between the two cities and beyond, including the UK, the Chinese mainland and elsewhere in Asia,” noted the airline.

“Equally as important is our freight support for local businesses where we proudly transport live seafood, fresh produce and more.”

Cairns Airport chief Richard Barker said that “while disappointing, we respect and understand this tough commercial decision by Cathay Pacific.”

“Airlines around the world are being impacted by volatility and uncertainty in global markets, particularly in relation to fuel.”

Likewise, Tourism Tropical North Queensland CEO Mark Olsen said, “we’re seeing the rising cost of aviation fuel globally, we understand the pressure and Cathay have been an incredible partner over a very long time, particularly over the last two years.”

“They are our valued partner, and we will continue to collaborate with them to explore future opportunities for our region.”

Fumes in Cabin Leave Passengers Sick

A Delta Airlines flight traveling from Kahului Airport (OGG/PHOG) to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA/KSEA) diverted to Honolulu International Airport (HNL/PHNL) after strong fumes were reported inside the cabin shortly after the aircraft departed. 

The Airbus A321neo was carrying 189 passengers when the crew decided to end the Pacific crossing and land in Honolulu. The diversion prompted a medical response after several passengers reported headaches and nausea linked to the fumes.

Honolulu Emergency Medical Services treated three women, aged 42, 27 and 31, and transported them to an emergency room in stable condition, while the Federal Fire Department transported another patient who was also reported stable.

The incident occurred shortly after Flight 394 departed Maui on Saturday night. Instead of continuing toward Seattle, the flight crew followed established procedures and redirected the aircraft to Honolulu after fumes were observed in the cabin.

The source of the fumes had not been established. Delta said technicians would inspect the aircraft thoroughly as the airline reviews the circumstances surrounding the incident and works with aviation authorities.

The aircraft left Kahului Airport at 9:31 pm local time and touched down in Honolulu 40 minutes later at 10:11 pm. Passengers and crew stayed overnight in provided accommodation before departing at 9:38 am the next morning.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Delta Airlines

Code: DL/DAL

Aircraft: Airbus A321-271NX

Registration: N530DE

Serial Number: 11245

Engines: 2 x PW PW1133G

First Flew: 27th January 2023

Age: 3.8 Years

The replacement aircraft was also an Airbus A321-271NX - N509DT (MSN 10958)

Man boards Jetstar flight without a valid ticket

Jetstar flight JQ562 was preparing to fly from Melbourne (MEL/YMML) to Brisbane (BNE/YBBN) on Wednesday the 16th of September when an unusual security incident unfolded.

According to a witness account reported by the media, a man had missed his earlier flight with Jetstar and was stopped while attempting to board another flight, JQ562. He allegedly found another way onto the aircraft before crew discovered him sitting towards the rear of the cabin.

Police were called and the man was escorted from the aircraft before departure.

Jetstar has confirmed that it responded to a security incident onboard the flight, although the airline has not confirmed the detailed account of exactly how the man managed to get past crew members at the gate and at the aircraft door and board the aircraft. 

J0562 was scheduled to leave Melbourne at 9:35am but eventually departed around 10.10 am.

Quite how someone who had reportedly already been stopped ended up inside the aircraft without being seen is now the biggest unanswered question.

Qantas scraps its first Airbus A330

On the 11th of September Qantas sent an Airbus A330 from Melbourne (MEL/YMML) to Alice Springs (ASP/YBAS) to be scaped at the Asia Pacific Aircraft Storage (APAS) facility.  We believe this could be the first of many over the next few years.

The aircraft was VH-EBC, an Airbus A330-202 serial number 0506

It first flew as 'F-WWYU' on the 7th of February 2003
It was entered onto the Australian aircraft register as VH-EBC on the 23rd of January 2003 

Qantas Airways took delivery at Toulouse, France on the 12th of March 2003

The aircraft was first named 'Gold Coast - Tweed' but the aircraft's name was later changed to 'Surfers Paradise'

It arrived at Melbourne on completion of the delivery flight from France on the 14th of March 2003

It operated its first revenue service from Melbourne - Perth as QF485 on the 18th of March 2003.

The aircraft was to be leased to Jetstar, so it operated its last Qantas revenue service from Sydney - Melbourne as QF459 on the 13th of December 2006.

In December 2006 it flew from Melbourne to Manila for the application of Jetstar titles as QF6007.

That means it went from Qantas to Jetstar without changing its Australian registration. It remained VH-EBC throughout. There is an interesting fact from this period too. EBC spent much of its Jetstar career in a rather unusual white livery, rather than the standard silver/orange appearance associated with Jetstar's A330s.

It operated its first Jetstar revenue service from Sydney - Phuket as JQ027 on the 25th of December 2006. After 8 years with Jetstar, it returned to Qantas Airways at Brisbane for post-lease maintenance - July 2014

Leased to back to Qantas Airways Limited the aircraft flew from Brisbane - Singapore (Seletar) for maintenance and repainting as QF6009 - on the 6th of September 2014, fifteen days later it was ferried back from Singapore - Brisbane in the standard Qantas livery as QF6006.
The aircraft was renamed Surfers Paradise

Its last revenue flight was on the 5th of September flying from Singapore to Brisbane as QF54
On the 6th of September if flew from Brisbane - Melbourne as QF6132.

On the 11th of September it flew from Melbourne to Alice Springs.