This week, like most weeks I am at the Gibraltar Airport filming planes as they land and depart from one of the world's most dangerous airports. This day was much like any other, warm winds blowing off the sea, the sounds of waves washing up on shore, and the beautiful sight of these planes landing.
However, today was a bit different and for me special because I had the opportunity to film this British Airways flight landing at Gibraltar, knowing the pilot flying this plane.
Well, I technically don't know the pilot, but my instagram account, Ministry of Flight, does. On that instagram account, I follow all sorts of plane related pictures and people. One thing I note most often is anyone who posts about Gibraltar.
I happened to come across a British Airways pilot who had posted a pic of the A320-232 at the terminal overlooking The Rock of Gibraltar. This sparked my interest and I started following said pilot.
Fast forward a few months and the pilot posted another picture of Gib and the BA plane with a description that he would be flying that route in the morning. Of course I asked if it was BA492, the daily morning flight from London Heathrow to Gibraltar, and it was.
I knew I would be out by the airfield that morning since it was a Tuesday, which tends to see the most traffic for flights at Gibraltar. At Gibraltar Airport, we usually only have 3-5 flights per day. Tuesday mornings tend to be the busiest with arrivals from Bristol, Manchester, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, and Edinburgh. For this reason I especially love plane spotting at Gibraltar Airport on Tuesdays.
Needless to say this was an exciting opportunity for me! Knowing that I follow an instagram account of a pilot on one of these awesome planes landing for the day. The other thing is that this pilot also interacts with his followers on instagram, which I really appreciate. So when he responded to me, that yes indeed he would be piloting BA492 landing at Gibraltar on 6 September 2022, I had no choice but to be there!
Here are the details of the flight, both landing and departing:
LHR-GIB
Flight BA492
Call Sign: BAW492U
Equipment: A320 (G-EUUB)
Aircraft: Airbus A320-232
Landing Time: 11:01 AM
British Airways
GIB-LHR Flight BA493
Call Sign: BAW493U
Equipment: A320 (G-EUUB)
Aircraft: Airbus A320-232
DEPARTURE Time: 12:43 PM
One thing to note about the departure time, is that it was delayed. Most of the time this plane is only on the ground in Gibraltar for an hour. All of these commercial flights are typically only on the ground at Gibraltar for an hour. Very rarely does a plane have to spend the night here, and that would probably be due to mechanical issues.
Another unusual thing about this day was the 4 planes lined up at the terminal at Gibraltar Airport. Most mornings when there are all of these flights, the Bristol and Manchester flights have already departed, but today those flights were still parked at the terminal.
In all, it was very exciting for me, knowing I was filming this plane coming in having a connection albeit through social media, with someone on the plane. I have had the opportunity to connect with other people on my YouTube channel, Ministry of Flight, and have filmed flights landing for them as well.
Gibraltar is considered to be one of the world's most dangerous airports, see more here. For that reason, I love taking video of the planes here. I also enjoy when people reach out to me on my YouTube channel and let me know they will be on a specific flight, and if I get the chance I will totally film it.
That being said, if you are flying to or from Gibraltar and you would like a video of your plane landing or departing from one of the worlds most dangerous airports, leave a comment on one of my recent videos on my YouTube channel and I will do my best to film your plane!
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