An Air Atlanta Icelandic operated Boeing 747-400F freighter operating a service to Dubai has declared an emergency shortly after takeoff from Hong Kong.
Air Atlanta Icelandic B747-400F operating as flight CC4400 to Dubai Al Maktoum International Airport squawked transponder code 7700 shortly after departure from
Hong Kong International Airport (HKG).
The flight has been holding offshore, presumably for fuel dumping prior to a return to the origin airport.
Air Atlanta CC4400 Hong Kong-Dubai

0755 UTC: Landed Hong Kong (HKG)
Flight CC4400 has now landed at the origin airport Hong Kong International Airport. The return was made after flight crew declared an emergency shortly after takeoff earlier today. The nature of the emergency prompting the direct return is not yet known.

Flight data shows that flight CC4400 had made a departure from Hong Kong International Airport at 1427 local time today, 16 January 2025. Following takeoff, the flight had climbed to 9,000 feet before flight crew terminated the climb procedure.
Flight crew then squawked transponder code 7700 at 0644 UTC, approximately 30 minutes after takeoff. The flight then maintained 9,000 feet and entering holding offshore from Hong Kong. This was presumably to facilitate fuel dumping to reduce landing weight for the unscheduled early return.

The aircraft conducting the CC4400 rotation to Dubai was a Boeing 747-400F freighter. The aircraft is registered TF-AMU, and is a 25.8 year old converted freighter belonging to the carrier Network Aviation. It is operated by Air Atlanta Icelandic on behalf of the carrier. It has been in operational service with Air Atlanta Icelandic since April 2009.
Air Atlanta Icelandic is a charter airline based in Iceland.
It specializes in ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance) leasing and wet leasing, providing aircraft and crew to other airlines worldwide. It also operates charter flights for various purposes, including passenger and cargo transportation. The airline has a fleet of wide-body aircraft, mainly Boeing 767s, and has bases in several countries to cater to its global operations.

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