Asunción, July 2 - Air Europa Flight UX24, on June 30, 2025, a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner operating from Silvio Pettirossi International Airport in Asunción, Paraguay, to Madrid, Spain, encountered significant technical difficulties that forced the aircraft to return to its departure airport not once, but twice in a single day. The flight, carrying 272 passengers, was scheduled to cover the 9,190-kilometer transatlantic route in approximately 10 hours and 35 minutes. However, what was intended to be a routine journey turned into a series of operational challenges that disrupted travel plans and raised questions about aircraft reliability.
Me envían por WhatsApp este vídeo del vuelo UX24 de Air Europa, soltando fuel antes de volver a Asunción por problemas técnicos.
— jordibatlle (@jordibatlle) July 1, 2025
Tuvo que volver dos veces 🥲
No acostumbro a publicar sin conocer la fuente, pero este me ha parecido interesante. pic.twitter.com/SGTXhMOBmV
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The sequence of events began shortly after the flight’s initial departure at 11:56 PYT. During the early climb and cruise phase, the crew detected a technical issue severe enough to warrant abandoning the flight plan. To ensure a safe landing, the aircraft needed to reduce its weight, as it was still heavy with fuel for the long-haul journey. The pilots initiated a fuel-dumping procedure at approximately 10,000 feet, releasing thousands of gallons of jet fuel over a low-altitude area in the Presidente Hayes Department of Paraguay. This process, while standard in such scenarios to meet safe landing weight requirements, is costly and environmentally impactful. After circling for nearly an hour, the Dreamliner safely returned to Silvio Pettirossi International Airport. Passengers, expecting a swift resolution, were soon faced with further complications.
After ground crews inspected the aircraft, a second attempt to operate the flight was made later that day, with takeoff occurring at 16:11 PYT. However, the same technical issue—or a related problem—resurfaced shortly after departure, forcing the crew to declare another PAN-PAN alert, an aviation code indicating an urgent but non-life-threatening situation. The aircraft once again performed fuel dumping to reduce its weight and safely landed back in Asunción. The dual emergency landings disrupted not only the passengers’ travel plans but also Air Europa’s operations, triggering a cascade of scheduling challenges, including crew reallocations, rebookings, and accommodations for stranded travelers.
The repeated technical failures on Flight UX24, registered as EC-NBM, underscored the complexities of modern aviation, where even advanced aircraft like the Boeing 787 can face unexpected mechanical issues. The incidents prompted Air Europa to conduct a thorough inspection of the aircraft to identify the root cause of the recurring problem. While the specific nature of the technical fault was not disclosed, the event highlighted the pressures on airlines to maintain aging fleets amid high demand and supply chain constraints in aircraft manufacturing. The disruptions also impacted Paraguay’s growing role as a transatlantic hub, potentially affecting confidence in regional air travel as tourism rebounds in 2025. Passengers, many of whom faced delays or rebookings, were left to navigate the inconvenience, with some potentially eligible for compensation under regulations like EC 261/2004, which provides up to €600 for significant delays or cancellations. The incident serves as a reminder of the delicate balance between operational efficiency and safety in global aviation.