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Passengers traveling on a World2fly flight from Cuba to Prague on January 10 were left stranded for three days after the crew rejected takeoff in Holguin. As reported by The Aviation Herald, the Airbus A330 operating the flight aborted its takeoff after suffering an in-flight technical issue during acceleration.
The aircraft returned to the apron, and the flight was canceled. The Spanish leisure charter airline said the rejected takeoff was caused by engine failure. Passengers were taken to hotels while awaiting a replacement aircraft. The replacement flight was scheduled to depart on January 13 to take passengers on to Prague.
Passenger Accounts Detail Tire Burst And Engine Fire During Takeoff
The aircraft involved was an Airbus A330-300, registration EC-OND, operating flight 2W-8548 from Holguin Frank País Airport to Prague Václav Havel Airport Prague. As the aircraft was accelerating for takeoff, one of its tires burst, according to The Aviation Herald, which cited accounts from passengers and the travel agency. Tire debris was then ingested by the left engine, which damaged the fan blades and resulted in an engine failure, with flames reported during the event.
As a result, the crew rejected the takeoff and returned the aircraft to the apron. It currently remains grounded at Holguin Airport. Jan Macháček, one of the plane’s passengers, told Czech media outlet Novinky, “During takeoff, a tire burst, broke off, and flew into the left engine. It damaged the engine blades, and the engine then started to burn. Fortunately, this happened at a stage when the captain managed to brake at the end of the runway, and the firefighters extinguished the fire.”
Airline Gives Different Accounts Of A330 Incident
However, as reported by multiple media outlets, World2Fly has said the rejected takeoff was caused by a bird strike. Simple Flying has contacted the airline for comment to clarify the cause of the incident. For now, the exact reason for the incident remains unclear. That said, as reported by Novinky, Jan Bezděk, a spokesman for the Fischer travel agency, which had clients on board the flight, said the incident was not caused by a bird, contrary to what passengers were told by the airline.
The incident resulted in a three-day delay for passengers, who were stranded in Cuba until a replacement aircraft could be arranged. Later, on January 13, the passengers were transported to Prague on an Airbus A330-200, registration EC-NZJ, operated by Privilege Style. As understood by Simple Flying, affected passengers were provided hotel accommodation with full service and all-inclusive meals and were expected to receive $699 (€600) in compensation from the travel agencies upon arrival in Prague.
Furthermore, the same aircraft was involved in a separate technical incident in mid-December. The Airbus A330-300 was operating flight 2W-8624 from Phu Quoc International Airport to Prague, with a scheduled technical stop in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. During the stop, the aircraft faced a hydraulic failure, which resulted in a delay of around 15 hours. Passengers were required to spend the night at the airport before the flight could continue.
World2Fly: Inside Spain’s Transatlantic Airline Start Up
About The Aircraft Involved
According to planespotters.net, the aircraft in question, EC-OND, is approximately 12.8 years old. It joined World2fly’s fleet in April 2025 and entered service on June 13, 2025. Prior to that, it was operated by Sichuan Airlines, which took delivery in March 2013 and withdrew it from service in November 2024. The aircraft was stored at Shanghai Pudong Airport between November 2024 and April 2025 before being transferred to World2fly.
World2fly launched operations in 2022. The leisure charter carrier is owned by Spanish tourism group Iberostar and operates through two branches, one in Spain and one in Portugal. According to ch-aviation, the airline currently operates four Airbus A330-300 aircraft, with three based in Spain and one in Portugal.
It also has three Airbus A350-900 aircraft, all operated by the Spanish branch. The carrier’s A350-900 aircraft are configured with 432 seats in a single-class 3-3-3 layout. Meanwhile, the A330-300 fleet is configured with 388 seats in a 2-4-2 layout, according to the airline’s website.
