Sunday Reads: Our Most Notable Stories This Week

Hello and welcome back to another edition of Simple Flying's 'Sunday Reads' weekly digest, with this particular one being the 83rd iteration. Let's end the week instyle with a look back at some of our top stories from the last seven days!

Antonov An-225: It Will Cost At Least €500 Million To Rebuild The World’s Largest Airplane

In the early stages of the Ukrainian conflict, Russian troops destroyed the world's largest aircraft, the Antonov An-225, at Antonov's Hostomel Airport base. Now, the manufacturer is committed to rebuilding the majestic aircraft. However, everything about this plane seems enormous, including the cost of bringing it back to life.

Israelis And Palestinians To Fly Together To The FIFA World Cup

As the FIFA World Cup approaches, Israel has reached an agreement with Qatar that will see the first-ever direct flights between Tel Aviv and Qatar. The two countries do not have diplomatic relations, but Qatar has said that Israelis would be able to enter the country for the duration of the tournament. You can find out more here.

Qatar Airways Boeing 777-300ER in the FIFA World Cup livery

Photo: Md Shaifuzaman Ayon via Wikimedia Commons

Etihad To Operate First Transatlantic Contrail Prevention Flight During COP27

One of the airlines working on reducing contrail formation through enhanced flight planning is Etihad, together with its partner, SATAVIA. Beyond the scope of their ongoing research, the two are operating a dedicated 'NetZero' flight from Washington Dulles Airport to Abu Dhabi this Sunday, on November 13th, 2022.

Photo: Etihad Airways

Eurowings Discover Airbus A330 Becomes A Flying Climate Laboratory

A Eurowings Discover A330 has been converted into a flying climate laboratory. The aircraft, registered D-AIKE, is the third aircraft in the Lufthansa Group fleet to be equipped with special sensors to take real-time measurements of the climate and atmosphere while flying around the world. You can find out more here.

Photo: Tom Boon - Simple Flying

Cool: Japan's ANA Turns Used Seat Covers Into Limited Edition Slippers

All Nippon Airways (ANA) has announced a program to create limited edition slippers from used seat covers. The upcycling initiative came from employees and is an innovative way to recycle items that would usually be discarded en-masse. The slippers went on sale in Japan through a lottery that started earlier this week.

Photo: Lukas Souza | Simple Flying

Bizarre: TSA Agents Find Handgun Inside Raw Chicken At Fort Lauderdale Airport

Transportation Security Administration agents were left bemused after a passenger attempted to smuggle a handgun through security via a raw chicken at Fort Lauderdale Airport. The confusing concealment attempt has provided an excellent example (and some excellent wordplay) for passengers unsure about current firearm travel requirements. You can find out how the incident unfolded here.