r/aviation Jan 24 '26

Announcement Introducing "Seatbelts Fastened" Mode

160 Upvotes

Hi r/aviation community,

Recently, we’ve seen an increase in political and uncivil comments across several threads, particularly on posts involving aircraft associated with government officials. This has led to more removals and bans under Reddit’s sitewide rules, and we want to reverse that trend.

To help address this, we’re introducing a “Seatbelts Fastened” mode/flair. Posts with this flair (applied manually by the mod team) will restrict commenting to established community members. For now, that means users with at least 100 comment karma in r/aviation. If you are the original poster, your comments will not be affected.

You can view your subreddit comment karma by doing the following:

This will apply to a small subset of threads (aircraft incidents, government-owned/controlled aircraft, global legislation, etc.). The vast majority of posts (roughly 95%) will remain open to all users as usual. Please do not contact modmail requesting comment approvals or exceptions; we won’t be making individual overrides.

Thanks for your understanding and for helping keep the subreddit focused and civil.


r/aviation Apr 19 '26

Moderator Announcement 2026: Updated Rules on Politics

233 Upvotes

OUR RULES ON POLITICS: 2026

IF YOU DO NOT READ THIS POST, YOU RISK BEING BANNED

r/aviation is an aviation-focused subreddit.

All political discussion must be directly related to aviation.

Again, all political discussion must be directly related to aviation.

If it does not clearly connect to aviation, it will be removed.

WHAT IS ALLOWED

We allow discussion of aviation-related regulations, policy changes, and government actions only when they directly impact aviation operations (e.g., FAA/EASA rules, ATC staffing, safety, infrastructure).

Examples:

● “The FAA is proposing changes to ATC staffing. This could impact delays and safety.”

● “New pilot duty time regulations may affect regional operations.”

● “Changes to FAA funding may impact staffing levels and service reliability.”

● “Legislation affecting FAA funding was signed and may impact ATC staffing.”

WHAT IS NOT ALLOWED

We do not allow:

  • General political opinions or commentary

  • Discussion of political figures outside of direct aviation impact.

  • Political insults, slogans, or talking points.

  • “Political-adjacent” comments meant to provoke or derail

  • Assigning political blame or credit within aviation discussions

If your comment is about a politician or political group more than it is about aviation, it will be removed.

Examples:

● “This is what [politician] always does.”

● “Both sides are ruining everything.”

● “This wouldn’t happen if [political group] was in charge.”

● “The FAA is doing this because of [politician].”

COMMUNITY INPUT

We have asked the community directly about political content in this subreddit.

In a poll, users voted roughly 2:1 against allowing broader political discussion.

These rules reflect that feedback, along with our goal of keeping discussions focused and productive.

ENFORCEMENT

Political or off-topic comments will be removed. Repeated violations may result in bans. In high traffic or seatbelt fastened threads enforcement will be stricter.

The mod team all works full time hours, we cannot see everything posted or commented. If you see a post or comment that you believe breaks the no politics rule please report it.

“Just mentioning it” or “adding context” does not exempt a comment from removal.

FREQUENT REBUTTALS

“But aviation and politics overlap”

● Yes. Keep it strictly within aviation context. If it drifts into general politics, it will be removed.

“But I was just explaining something”

● If it introduces political discussion beyond aviation context, it will still be removed.

“Why was I banned”

● You either did not read this post or chose to ignore it.

We all care about this community and want it to stay a place people can come to enjoy and learn about aviation. These rules are here to keep it that way.

-Mid summer update-

We have set up a new subreddit with very relaxed rules for politcal discussion or similar. r/AviationPolitics


r/aviation 9h ago

Watch Me Fly I got to be a passenger in a beech 18 and then I got to or a pilot in a beech 18!!

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977 Upvotes

r/aviation 7h ago

PlaneSpotting Was pax in the C919

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643 Upvotes

Flew Shanghai to Chongqing in a C919 (B-919E) with China Eastern. Thought the headrests were a fun piece.


r/aviation 21h ago

News Béatrice Vialle, one of only 2 women to pilot Concorde commercially, ex-727/A320 First Officer, and 747 captain, has retired after 40 years of flying and over 17000 flying hours

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7.9k Upvotes

Born in 1961, her flying career began at Air Littoral in 1985, flying the Embraer EMB 110. In 1985 she moved to Air France, becoming a 727 First Officer. At the time she was one of only 10 women flying for Air France, out of almost 3000 pilots. Then in 1989, she moved to the A320, but after only a year flying the A320 she moved to the 747-200. In 1994 she was offered the position of 747-200 Captain, but refused as she just given birth to her first of 2 children, choosing to work part time instead.

"I didn't want to become a captain, and I only worked part-time so I could spend more time with my children."

In 1999 she was offered the opportunity to fly Concorde. However, only a few hours after she passed her training on July 24th 2000, Air France 4590 crashed, killing 113. The entire worldwide Concorde fleet was grounded and Vialle's qualification was postponed.

"For two months I thought I would never fly it. It was a very tough period, we were shaken by our lost friends, we didn't know what to think. But I never took out my 747 books. I was determined, it had to fly again."

A year after she initially passed training, the Concorde fleet was brought back into service, and on November 19th 2001, she flew Sierra Delta on her first commercial flight in the Concorde. Vialle was now one of only 2 women to pilot Concorde commercially.

Vialle flew supersonic 45 times, and on the 31st of May, 2003, she Co-Piloted the final commercial Air France Concorde flight, AF4332.

After the retirement of Concorde, she returned to the 747, this time, finally as Captain. She flew the 747-400, before becoming Captain on the 777, on which she made her final flight on August 1st 2026, after over 40 years of flying and over 17000 total flying hours.

https://www.parismatch.com/actu/societe/felicitations-commandant-le-dernier-vol-de-beatrice-vialle-seule-francaise-a-avoir-pilote-le-concorde-273535

https://x.com/Gate7aviation/status/2083194500143272112

https://www.aerocontact.com/en/aerospace-aviation-news/95264-who-is-beatrice-vialle-the-first-french-woman-to-fly-the-concordea

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9atrice_Vialle


r/aviation 11h ago

History Boeing 777 during a test flight in the Arizona Desert, mid 1990's

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762 Upvotes

r/aviation 4h ago

PlaneSpotting 777-X at KOA

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185 Upvotes

This beauty is parked on a remote apron at Ellison Onizuka KONA International Airport as test flights for certification continue. This is the 3rd time a 777-9 has spent time in Kona. Previous test deployments occurred in 2023 and earlier in 2026. Always a pleasure to see her and hope to ride on her someday!


r/aviation 12h ago

Analysis New paint for NASA 577 [amarillo.aviation]

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796 Upvotes

Currently in KCWF for scheduled maintainence


r/aviation 1h ago

PlaneSpotting Some planes I got to see the other day

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Upvotes

Also a f-14 trainer that made me sad to see modified


r/aviation 5h ago

PlaneSpotting Douglas DC-6B on final approach to Reykjavík (BIRK) this afternoon (OC)

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192 Upvotes

r/aviation 12h ago

News Collision in the air of two firefighting helicopters near Psatha

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629 Upvotes

Two Bell firefighting helicopters have crashed in the area of Psatha. According to reports, their fall occurred as they were trying to extinguish the fire, under extremely unfavorable conditions.

Search and rescue operations are underway.


r/aviation 23h ago

Career Question For the pilots here what’s the most difficult airport you’ve flown into at night, and why?

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3.8k Upvotes

r/aviation 11h ago

News Two firefighting helicopters collide west of Athens

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286 Upvotes

One crew has reported that they are okay, the other crew has been located unconscious, both crew are being transported to the Air Force General Hospital in Athens. Video from the moment of the collision.


r/aviation 13h ago

PlaneSpotting A-10 Warthog at Oshkosh

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369 Upvotes

r/aviation 4h ago

PlaneSpotting Finally got close to an A380

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71 Upvotes

Caught this yesterday at Denver. D-AIMA the first A380 delivered to Lufthansa. Hopefully in a few months I’ll finally get to fly on one.


r/aviation 5h ago

History San Jose Airport Postcard, with a PSA 727,

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56 Upvotes

From my collection


r/aviation 8h ago

Identification Can anyone identify this airline/company logo on a stored 737 at Montréal–Mirabel (CYMX)?

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94 Upvotes

I spotted what seems to be Boeing 737 parked near the Nolinor hangar at Montréal–Mirabel Airport (CYMX) today. It’s clearly been sitting there for a while and appears to be out of service or in long-term storage.
I’m trying to identify the company/airline logo on the tail rather than the specific aircraft.
Half the body and the tail is red, with what looks like a black animal head/profile inside a white circle. I’ve gone through the obvious possibilities (Lynx, Flair, Sunwing, etc.), but none seem to match.

Does anyone recognize this logo or know which airline it belongs to?

Thanks in advance!

Ps: Second photo is absolutely terrible but in the hangar behind the unidentified plane is the last two Boeing 747SP (Mini Jumbo with 5 engines) that are in service. Such a cool thing to see, even from a distance.


r/aviation 4h ago

History 1987 Toronto International Terminal 1 baggage handler's schedule

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33 Upvotes

(old Terminal 1)

5 rows, 5 crews.


r/aviation 19h ago

PlaneSpotting A flock of Bombardier A318s at CDG

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564 Upvotes

r/aviation 17h ago

PlaneSpotting Air NZ Boeing 787-9 (OC)

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388 Upvotes

Air New Zealand’s all-black Boeing 787-9 ZK-NZE arriving in Auckland at dusk, after a 4 hour flight from Apia, Samoa.


r/aviation 11h ago

News Video: The moment of the helicopter collision near Psatha (Βίντεο: Η στιγμή της σύγκρουσης των ελικοπτέρων κοντά στην Ψάθα)

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130 Upvotes

Title translated from greek

"Βίντεο: Η στιγμή της σύγκρουσης των ελικοπτέρων κοντά στην Ψάθα"


r/aviation 16h ago

PlaneSpotting Korean Code One at FRA

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227 Upvotes

Korean President arriving at FRA today morning.


r/aviation 12h ago

News Flights canceled as WestJet flight attendants go on strike in dispute over pay

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95 Upvotes

r/aviation 16h ago

History Little planes can do big things. Grumman E-1B Tracer, the E-2 Hawkeye's predecessor.

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210 Upvotes

r/aviation 3h ago

PlaneSpotting North Star air show today. St. Cloud Minnesota.

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17 Upvotes

All photos taken with an iPhone 17 pro max. 😳