New Year's Eve brought two airlines considerable damage to their aircraft. In Bogotá, for example, an Airbus A319 from Avianca collided with a so-called sky lantern, and several Middle East Airlines aircraft were shot at in Lebanon.

Avianca was en route from Orlando to Bogotá with the N557AV. The flight went without any problems before a burning sky lantern crossed the path on the approach. The medium-haul jet of the type Airbus A319 collided. The engines partially absorbed the object, but the aircraft landed safely. According to Avianca, only property damage occurred. An initial assessment by the airline states that there was no risk to the passengers or the crew.

Unknown people shot around with rifles and / or pistols at random in Lebanon. In this latitude it is a dangerous custom to greet the New Year with gun shots. Since this is not well thought out, people and objects are repeatedly harmed. The same applies to aircraft operated by Middle East Airlines. According to a Lebanon 24 report, three machines were hit by bullet and damaged as a result. 

The carrier only confirmed that three aircraft were affected, but did not say which ones. It is about “modern, new machines”, writes Middle East Airlines on request. The property damage would be considerable, but the exact amount cannot yet be estimated. It is not the first time that Middle East Airlines has been a victim of ricochets on New Year's Eve. Similar incidents had already occurred in previous years. The three jets affected were parked, so that only property damage occurred.