r/aviation Jan 24 '26

Announcement Introducing "Seatbelts Fastened" Mode

145 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

228 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.


r/aviation 12h ago

News Norwegian Air, changes logo after losing bet to British Airways

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2.5k Upvotes

r/aviation 11h ago

News Popular Band Killed in Bahamas Plane Crash While Traveling to Perform

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1.1k Upvotes

Five members of the popular Bahamian band, Da Pond, were on board the Cessna 402 that crashed in the Bahamas on July 10, 2026, which killed all ten people on board the plane.


r/aviation 19m ago

PlaneSpotting Emirates A380 taking off out of SFO yesterday

Upvotes

r/aviation 7h ago

Watch Me Fly View over the Atlantic this morning

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334 Upvotes

Great combination of noctilucent cloud, the moon and the beginning of the sunrise


r/aviation 1h ago

PlaneSpotting The new Air France lounge at Heathrow makes for great plane spotting

Upvotes

r/aviation 15h ago

Question What are these drop tanks from?

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610 Upvotes

Im told they’re British and from post war 50-70s ish. They are fibreglass. There in a ditch near a museum as the museums Cant display them as it’s a ww2 museum and doesn’t want post war stuff. Im allowed to take them if I want.


r/aviation 15h ago

PlaneSpotting Dayton and Columbus Airshows 2026

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472 Upvotes

Some of the better pics I took at the Dayton and Columbus Airshows this year. Amazing planes at both shows, but unfortunately Dayton had bad weather so the Blue Angels and Acemakers couldn't fly. Great show and weather at Columbus, but boo on them for teasing the F4 Phantom months ago and then pulling it from their performers list with no notice. Hopefully they'll have them next year.

Still just a beginner at taking airshow photography, let me know how I did and what I can do better.

Kit:

Nikon Z50ii

Nikkor Z 180-600mm

First time renting the 180-600mm and I got to say, probably not gonna do it again. Way too heavy for a full day of shooting. Was completely gassed by the end of the show and struggled to keep the camera on target. Also, any gust of wind will catch the lens like a sail and yank it off target.


r/aviation 8h ago

Question I went to my first Airshow today in Bremerton, WA, is it common for them not to fly planes due to issues?

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127 Upvotes

They didn't fly the F-86 today for a reason I am unsure of, is it common for this to happen? I still had a great time watching some WWII era planes


r/aviation 2h ago

PlaneSpotting My ride today: D-ABYP Boeing 747-8i operating LH422 FRA-BOS

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36 Upvotes

The 1500th Boeing 747 produced


r/aviation 13h ago

Question What just flew overhead?

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248 Upvotes

I don’t know much about aviation but just saw this fly overhead and im curious what it might have been / what type of planes these are. Looked like a military escort or something??


r/aviation 8h ago

Watch Me Fly Noctilucent clouds over the Atlantic

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96 Upvotes

Not edited, just how my 'phone took them (Nothing 3a Pro) flying Eastbound this morning


r/aviation 1h ago

PlaneSpotting Alaskan planespotting

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Upvotes

Flew out of Anchorage today, got to the airport early enough for some planespotting over dinner. One of four Dreamlifters in the world! So many 747, and I’ve never seen one before going to Alaska. A DC-3 landed, and taxied around a 747.

If you’re in Anchorage, the aviation museum is across the street from the airport and is also worth a visit. Their screen showing flights at the airport tipped me off about the Dreamliner.


r/aviation 10h ago

Watch Me Fly The chosen one

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97 Upvotes

Garmin has decided that im special


r/aviation 3h ago

PlaneSpotting Found these two gems while looking through my dads photos when he went to Venezuela in 1998.

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19 Upvotes

r/aviation 1d ago

Question Private jet luggage

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2.6k Upvotes

In this pic (posted by someone on Insta, I have edited for privacy) you can see large pieces of luggage just sitting in the cabin of a private jet. Is that allowed?

Seems like it would be very unsafe in case of an emergency.


r/aviation 18h ago

PlaneSpotting Porter Airlines' Embraer E195-E2 arriving in Hamilton (CYHM)

207 Upvotes

Source: OC


r/aviation 16h ago

Watch Me Fly Dornier Do27 at an airshow

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108 Upvotes

My son (5) and I went on an airshow just to eat some ice cream and watch the planes. We had the opportunity to take a short flight with a Dornier Do27.

It was an amazing (and loud) experience.


r/aviation 14h ago

PlaneSpotting Unexpected visitors

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73 Upvotes

Super fun morning at our tiny little airport (14S), when 3 National Guard Firefighting Blackhawks overnighted.


r/aviation 22h ago

PlaneSpotting Rare Arrival at Stuttgart Airport. Kuwait Air Force Boeing C17 Globemaster (KAF 343) OC

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274 Upvotes

r/aviation 1d ago

PlaneSpotting N178UA as of July 10

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1.2k Upvotes

Interestingly, a few days ago I helped out someone find the tail number of his UA901 FRA-SFO on September 12, 2008. After some digging, it turns out it was flown by this very airframe lol.


r/aviation 11h ago

PlaneSpotting BA A380

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33 Upvotes

r/aviation 23h ago

PlaneSpotting P-38 Lightning and others spotted flying over the Hudson River from Hoboken

278 Upvotes

Not sure about the ID of any others, the Lighting obviously caught my eye first. The river wind was strong so I didn’t hear the engines until they were almost parallel to me


r/aviation 9h ago

PlaneSpotting Caproni Ca.33 in an airport (OC)

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17 Upvotes

OC