The Boeing 737-900ER registred OK-TSM (production number 34952, manufactured 2007) flew from Prague to Yanbu in Saudi Arabia on December 30, 2025. Since the beginning of the year, it has been acting as one of the support aircraft for the famous Dakar Rally, which is held in this country. Smartwings aircraft have been accompanying the race for six years.
In an interview given to the Garáž.cz website last year, the captain of the Boeing 737 Jan Šťastný, who is supporting the Dakar Rally for the second year, revealed several interesting facts about the flights. He told the magazine how they landed at the airport in Shubait in 2024, which belonged to the Aramco oil company a few years ago. "This year we're in for another challenge. It's a bit of a wilderness, it's not a standard airport with air traffic control, so we follow different procedures. And if anything happens there, it's a problem because you can't get anywhere. There's no cell phone signal or backup system used at regular commercial airports. Maybe a landline, but it's better not to even think about it," Šťastný told Garáž.cz.
He also described how the Boeing 737-900ER was prepared for operation in Saudi Arabia last year. "The brakes are halfway through their service life, they can easily withstand another four months of active operation. The tire on one of the landing gears was replaced, just to be safe, and we're taking two more with us to be ready for any tire problem – we had one here last year. And of course, there's also a jack available, oil and hydraulic refills, we simply have all the things that we can repair on site ourselves. A total of 840 kg of spare parts and tools." added Captain Šťastný for Garáž.cz.
Prepared By: Martin Bernict
Photo: planes.cz
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