Good morning!
Hope everyone is doing well!
Yesterday (Sunday 10th October 2021), the NFL came to London! The New York Jets played against the Atlanta Falcons at Tottenham Hotspur’s ground in North London.
I’m not going to say the result here in case you want to watch it and find out for yourself!
Anyway, the teams arrived onboard 2 Virgin Atlantic Airbus A350-1000’s on Friday, so there can prepare for the game on Sunday yesterday.
Yesterday morning it came to my attention that both teams would be departing from Stansted that evening, and with 2x Virgin Atlantic A350’s which will position into Stansted, ready for their departure back to the States.
It was shortly after 5:15pm UK time (1615Z) when the first of the planes arrived from London Heathrow, then around 30 minutes or so later, the second arrived.
I was at Stansted, ready along with several other plane enthusiasts with cameras to picture their arrivals.
It’s not often you see VIR / VS come into Stansted, hence the intrigue to see them both!
Light was fading fast after the first arrival, so the challenge was on to get the best pictures possible, in low light!
Below are the aircraft details, and pictures! Enjoy!
Aircraft / Flight details
First Arrival @ 1628Z
- Callsign: VIR821P (Virgin 821 Papa)
- Route: London Heathrow (LHR / EGLL) → London Stansted (STN / EGSS)
- A/C type: A35K (Airbus A350-1041)
- Reg: G-VPOP (Mamma Mia)
Second Arrival @ 1703Z
- Callsign: VIR832P (Virgin 832 Papa)
- Route: London Heathrow (LHR / EGLL) → London Stansted (STN / EGSS)
- A/C type: A35K (Airbus A350-1041)
- Reg: G-VDOT (Ruby Slipper)
Both aircraft together on the Ramp as light was fading, fast!
I appreciate they may not be very clear even after my editing, but then again my camera isn’t the best when it comes to low light photography!
The two planes were due to pushback from the Gates at 20:45 BST for G-VPOP on Stand A12 (Gate 6), and 21:15 BST for G-VDOT on Stand A13 (Gate 12). However for reasons unknown at this time, they both departed later than scheduled.
Below are the outbound flights they operated…
G-VPOP Mamma Mia (VS625 / VIR625 - STN -> ATL)
- Scheduled Off-Blocks Time: 20:45 BST
- Actual Off-Blocks Time: 21:01 BST (+16m SOBT)
- Route: London Stansted (STN / EGSS) → Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson (ATL / KATL)
- Total Flight Time (Air Time): 08h 21m
G-VDOT Ruby Slipper (VS627 / VIR627 - STN -> EWR)
- Scheduled Off-Blocks Time: 21:15 BST
- Actual Off-Blocks Time: 21:44 BST (+29m SOBT)
- Route: London Stansted (STN / EGSS) → New York Newark Liberty (EWR / KEWR)
- Total Flight Time (Air Time): 07h 11m
Hope you enjoyed this little collection of photos I took, and until the next forum post… Happy Flying!
All photos were edited using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC 2021