After 11 days on the ground, I was worried Hekla Aurora (special livery 757-200 #TFFIU of IcelandAir with colorful depiction of #AuroraBorealis over Iceland's Hekla volcano) might have ended revenue service. But it resumed flying yesterday. Rumor says mid-October is the retirement date for this plane that has made so many people smile just seeing it. In its remaining 2 weeks, pounce on any opportunity to get a picture. https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/TFFIU #aviation #travel #avgeek

Though plans can change, I see a flight plan was filed for IcelandAir's Hekla Aurora 757 coming to Portland #KPDX on the afternoon of Tuesday, October 7. 📸 Unless it comes again in its last week before retirement, this may be its last time here. 📸 https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/TFFIU/history/20251007/1700Z/BIKF/KPDX #aviation #travel #avgeek 📸📸📸

IcelandAir's avgeek-favorite "Hekla Aurora" 757-200 made what may be its last visit to Portland today. Appropriately, I caught video of the landing with the sunset. It's expected to be retired next week. Bon voyage old friend! We will miss you! [edit Nov 7: now that it's in the boneyard, it confirms Oct 7 was its last landing at PDX.] #aviation #travel #avgeek

While Hekla Aurora is still on the ground in Portland #KPDX, a flight plan filed for Friday says we'll get another visit. It's good that I qualified my post as "what may be its last visit". I had no way to know of they'd parade it by lots of cities one more time, or focus its final flights on the longest routes that need the 757's range. (PDX is currently IcelandAir's farthest route from KEF.) We lucked out. Though Friday's forecast is rain. https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/TFFIU/history/20251010/1700Z/BIKF/KPDX #aviation #travel #avgeek #PNW

I see Icelandair has changed the aircraft for today's Portland run. A plain-vanilla 757-200 (TF-FIO "Krafla") was substituted on the flight. Hekla Aurora (#TFFIU) no longer has any flight plans before its Sunday farewell sightseeing flight. Shorter flights to Europe or US & Canada East Coasts could still be scheduled in that time. So the sunset video I got on Tuesday was Hekla Aurora's last visit to PDX (and maybe North America) after all. https://avgeek.social/@ikluft/115336258024068997 #KPDX #aviation #avgeek #travel

I have a hunch the chance of thunderstorms in this afternoon's weather forecast in Portland may be why IcelandAir substituted another plane for Flight 665 to Portland today. Unless there was a technical issue, it seems they just didn't want it to be late returning for its own farewell party on Sunday. If so, some other city could still be lucky enough to get the final visit by Hekla Aurora. #TFFIU #aviation #travel #avgeek

It looks like IcelandAir removed Hekla Aurora #TFFIU from service early. It didn't fly at all Friday, after being pulled from Flight 665 to Portland PDX. Saturday is the only day remaining before the Sunday retirement event, a sold-out sightseeing flight originating from and returning to Reykjavik's Domestic Airport #RKV / #BIRK in downtown. (Usually the big jets operate from Keflavik Int'l Airport #KEF / #BIKF about 50km/30mi west of the city.) https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/TFFIU/history/20251009/1455Z/EKCH/BIKF #aviation #travel #avgeek

It's turning out to be tough to figure out IcelandAir's plans for their "Hekla Aurora" 757 retirement. A sold-out farewell sightseeing flight is planned for Sunday in Reykjavik. We thought that was the end - but apparently only symbolically and not a hard-stop. Now I see a Monday flight to Rome, under the normal KEF-FCO flight number. So we'll keep watching. Maybe, maybe... can we hold out hope to see it again here? Dunno. Stay tuned. https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/TFFIU/history/20251013/0800Z/BIKF/LIRF #aviation #travel #avgeek

Attention avgeeks in Boston - IcelandAir's Hekla Aurora #TFFIU is inbound to #KBOS. They've squeezed in 2 Saturday flights (Jerez Spain and Boston) after it was pulled from the run to Portland #KPDX yesterday. Sunday will be the farewell sightseeing tour over Iceland - apparently for its last weekend, not last day. It flies to Rome on Monday. The recent rumors said Oct 15, which may still turn out correct. I hope we'll see it once more at PDX. https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/TFFIU/history/20251011/1720Z/BIKF/KBOS #aviation #travel #avgeek

It looks like the sold-out "farewell tour" of #HeklaAurora #TFFIU must have been thoroughly enjoyed by its passengers. They went around the Westfjords, along the north coast, a low pass over Egilsstaðir Airport EGS and across the glacier-covered center of the island back to the downtown Reykjavik Airport (which doesn't usually see 757s). Wish I was there... https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/TFFIU/history/20251012/1216Z/BIRK #aviation #travel #avgeek

"Retirement Flight of Hekla Aurora" video by Extreme Aviation Iceland / Snorri Jónsson on YouTube - approach and landing of IcelandAir's #HeklaAurora #TFFIU Boeing 757-200 at Reykjavik's downtown airport #RKV / #BIRK at the conclusion of its farewell sightseeing tour on Sun Oct 12, 2025. I monitored the landing remotely via ADS-B - but this video is nice to see how it really looked. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_5piTUqQXM #aviation #travel #avgeek

"The world's fly nerds say goodbye to Iceland's most beautiful aircraft" by Visir (Iceland news, translated from Icelandic) - Article about the farewell sightseeing tour says avgeeks came from around the world to say goodbye to the popular plane. https://www.visir.is/g/20252788154d/flugnordar-heims-kvedja-fegurstu-flug-vel-is-lands #HeklaAurora #TFFIU #aviation #travel #avgeek