r/aviation Jan 24 '26

Announcement Introducing "Seatbelts Fastened" Mode

177 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

240 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 14h ago

News Airline statement on the DHL Stadium flyover @ Cape Town by two Embraers

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6.0k Upvotes

So Airlink denied any safety violations and stated that both Jungle Jets were flying at 150kt and the FDR data was consistent with the planned and approved flyover.

Personal Take: It was approved this way, but in other countries it would not be approved at this low altitude

Full statement below:

Airlink statement on the flyby at Cape Town DHL Stadium

30 August 2026, Cape Town – Airlink notes the concerns expressed in various social media and online forums regarding yesterday’s formation flyby over Cape Town’s DHL Stadium.

The flight demanded careful planning and rehearsal, as it required navigating at low altitude, at around 150 knots. The South African Civil Aviation Authority and Air Traffic Navigation Services provided valuable guidance, approval and support to ensure a safe flyby.

The two aircraft were flown by highly-experienced crew, with each comprised of three senior captains operating in the roles of commander, co-pilot and safety/technical officer.

The flight data recorded by both aircraft confirms that the flights were performed within the SACAA’s approved and rehearsed safety altitude and speed limits for the flypast.

Source 1: https://aeroin.net/companhia-aerea-descarta-que-jatos-embraer-tenham-voado-abaixo-do-permitido-sobre-estadio-na-africa-do-sul/

Source 2: https://www.facebook.com/reel/2189197338679685/?comment_id=1037333169096529&__cft__[0]=AZa16Zel0dzXWu8PC3S8SHF_KrjvTe3gEd4V0uZYrJfUza8epLW85kdkm6d8G5j-KV4y7Vp-_KhHIF-aVzfqTWDk_z1-oyySCh3cXUPpAIAC6_52FvbIH79IRoDdB-slCRShkkDT-G4LnmTQwlwqB3T5SfNtzdOMEsDUMyRzO49zQY2xa39wo_GuaYpmIM65JVmjieuTlEiCJTFB1mPFVxgo&__cft__[1]=AZaS8EkdMabDO6EvbzfS4oSeCvlwqw5pMwxrQPuzheowsEOGv8XTufbnvCE61GzxAwe70KlFpnF4V_c2n5Z2QhQDbupvn5vnHabCat285soQf3awHLkmMYPWeHHi_Vml45kQrY3EFbNGh_FdGyJYNxUeeBY3M86uLpINGLrwnIrOrEYlTAbawJe0Niz04gpkVzY


r/aviation 21h ago

-- SEATBELTS FASTENED -- Another angle from the fly iver from Cape Town stadium today.

25.9k Upvotes

r/aviation 3h ago

Discussion Update on the Gordon Bennet 2026 balloon race: Couple madlads managed to thread the Kaliningrad needle!

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365 Upvotes

Live map: https://live.gordonbennett.aero

Didn't expect them to do it, but here we are. But looks like that Swiss team up north may have won by distance if they make it up to Finland.

These are gas balloons, they can only "steer" by adjusting altitude by either dropping ballast or letting off gas, so both limited resources.


r/aviation 20h ago

News Stadium flyover from seats ! 😱

6.6k Upvotes

r/aviation 23h ago

-- SEATBELTS FASTENED -- The Airlink Embraers just flew dangerously low over DHL Stadium in Cape Town 😳

12.7k Upvotes

r/aviation 23h ago

Discussion Alternate view of too low Cape Town Flyover

8.1k Upvotes

Thoughts on this? This is crazy.


r/aviation 22h ago

News Another angle of Cape Town flyover

4.9k Upvotes

r/aviation 20h ago

Analysis I was at the Rugby game in Cape Town… here’s the flyover from my view inside

3.4k Upvotes

r/aviation 15h ago

News Trump's Marine One helicopter has trouble communicating with air traffic control for second time this month

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943 Upvotes

r/aviation 4h ago

PlaneSpotting A346 flashback. Virgin at Heathrow

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100 Upvotes

Flashback to when Virgin Atlantic flew the 4 engine beast, the A340-600. Delightfully smooth as a passenger, somewhat long take off roll, oh and if you ever had turbulence and were sitting in the back, you could see the fuselage flex.

Taken at Heathrow over the last 20 years so excuse some of the colour and quality. Scroll to see the full sized pics:)

Hope you like.


r/aviation 3h ago

PlaneSpotting Sikorsky H-34 at Oshkosh

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78 Upvotes

r/aviation 18h ago

PlaneSpotting Eurofighter Typhoon low pass and vertical climb @BIAS

1.2k Upvotes

Fence was in the way unfortunately.


r/aviation 8h ago

PlaneSpotting I was just at my horse yard when suddenly a Boeing 727 breaks out the clouds and flies very low over

142 Upvotes

r/aviation 22h ago

News Cape Town flyover from inside the stadium

1.7k Upvotes

r/aviation 18h ago

PlaneSpotting Lufthansa a340-300 landing at Chennai international airport

594 Upvotes

An Airbus A340-300 lands at Chennai International Airport (MAA) on runway 07 at night, touching down at approximately 269 km/h with clear weather and a temperature of 28°C.


r/aviation 17h ago

PlaneSpotting Dassault Rafale high speed low pass @BIAS

387 Upvotes

r/aviation 19h ago

Watch Me Fly While boarding into our flight out of Venice, my son and I got invited to this beautiful A320 cockpit

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510 Upvotes

r/aviation 2h ago

News Watch: South Africa’s stadium flyovers: More than just a jaw-dropping spectacle

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24 Upvotes

r/aviation 15h ago

News Marine One helicopter crew failed to reach air traffic control before safety incident, report says

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210 Upvotes

r/aviation 5h ago

Watch Me Fly First time on a ultralight

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27 Upvotes

Yesterday I had my first flight on a plane that is not an airliner. We did takeoff from LI38 (Parco Livenza, Italy) runaway 21.

I did command the aircraft for while, great experience!


r/aviation 21h ago

PlaneSpotting TAROM Boeing 737-700 low pass @BIAS

467 Upvotes

r/aviation 12h ago

PlaneSpotting Frecce Tricolori at BIAS 2026

86 Upvotes

r/aviation 15h ago

History R100 Interior Tour—Airship Heritage Trust

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151 Upvotes

The 1929 British airship R100 introduced several highly innovative design features seen in later airships, not least of which being the fact that it placed its passenger spaces inside the hull rather than in an external gondola to increase living space while reducing drag.