Before I clarify my (clickbait) Title...🙂..., imagine first the following scenario:

You are in the command of a Boeing 737-800 and have just flown 1,500 miles from the origin airport; now in the last couple of miles of your flight on the final approach to your destination airport. You are barreling down the final 500 ft of (AGL) altitude with your intended runway already in sight, for touchdown. So far, this all seems perfectly normal, and is nothing un-usual, but unaware, you're barely a minute or two from total disaster! You're lined up for the wrong Runway 16L, previously (and actually) been cleared for an approach to the parallel Runway 16R! Moreover, your Runway 16L is closed due to work in progress, and currently "unserviceable"; with all traffic being diverted to Runway 16R. To make things worse, there is a KLM Boeing 777-300, that has just landed (correctly) on Runway 16R and is about to cross Runway 16L on which you're to land momentarily. 

This is a RW incidence that happened this year, on May 23rd, to a Copa Airlines 737-800, at the Jorge Chávez International Airport (SPJC) in (Peru's capital) Lima. (BTW, the "KLM" in this incidence reminds me of the horrific Tenerife airport disaster, where both aircraft were on the ground. Also, if you wish, you may like to review the (U.S.) Comair Flight 5191 incidence, that also comes to my mind now). However, here, luck is on your side. Fortunately, the (attentive) Tower ATC; seeing this, just in time instructs you to go around. And 10 mins later, you re-position your 737 for another approach, and land safely on Runway 16R. 

For our flight today, I/we are headed to this same (Lima) airport. Ironically, when I set up the flight on (MSFS) World Map and SimBrief Flight Planner, both, by default, gave me the suggestion to land on "Runway 16L". Nonetheless, the diligent (virtual) flyer that I'm...🙂..., I did not fail to notice the (below) disclaimer in the (SimBrief) generated OFP:

"I (THE PIC) HEREWITH CONFIRM THAT I HAVE PERFORMED A THOROUGH SELF BRIEFING ABOUT THE DESTINATION AND ALTERNATE AIRPORTS OF THIS FLIGHT INCLUDING THE APPLICABLE INSTRUMENT APPROACH PROCEDURES, AIRPORT FACILITIES, NOTAMS AND ALL OTHER RELEVANT PARTICULAR INFORMATION."

Regarding Lima Airport ILS Runway 16L/34R, which is officially closed for arrivals and departures due to ongoing work; Notamify (the AI-powered NOTAM engine) states (see also shot #4 below), "At Jorge Chávez International Airport (SPJC) in Lima, Peru, the Instrument Landing System (ILS) for runway 16L is unserviceable (U/S) due to maintenance. This condition is in effect from September 12, 2025, until November 30, 2025." Where will we be today without AI...as long as it does not take my job away...🙂...?

Now, back to the Title of my post: This post is NOT about (actually) "PLAYING" in the Andes Mountains...🙂...I'm referring here to the Icelandic low-cost carrier (LCC), PLAY Airlines, a favorite of mine (easily identified with its radiant red livery that I'm also fond of); that, unfortunately, just 2 weeks ago, on September 30, 2025, abruptly shut down its business, closing its doors, and cancelling all remaining flights, after struggling to turn a profit since launching four years ago. So, you may consider this post "in-memory-of" the Icelandic PLAY airline.

My a/c of choice for today's flight is the default (iniBuilds) A321neo. I've been on a bit of roll lately with the iniBuilds Airbus airliners...🙂... (see my previous posts). I started by flying the payware A350 (US$75), then the payware A340 (US$60), then the (freeware) default A330; and in this post, the (freeware) default A321LR (aka A321neo). The first two a/c were thankfully made available to me for Xbox by iniBuilds in the Marketplace. And the last two a/c (A330 and A321) were (exclusively) made available as part of the (default) a/c set of base MSFS2024 suite; a/c good enough for the average simmer...as I am one...🙂...; despite the a/c being not at the complexity and fidelity level of the payware A340 and A350.

So, here we go, as I fly one of the longest A321neo routes in the world today, departing from (CYYZ) Toronto Pearson (from where, btw, I'd also taken off in my previous post), and destined for Lima's Jorge Chávez International Airport (SPJC), aiming directly south on the Globe (see SimBrief Route Map shot #2, and this week's RW Air Transat Flight 152 track in shot #3), across stretches of both the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, and then along the formidable Andes of South America, the highest mountain range in the world, outside of the one-and-only Himalayas (I've seen the Himalayas in RW, but not the Andes). This route is a peculiar one because you fly for 4,000 miles, still, there is a time difference of only 1 hour between Toronto and Lima, similar to e.g., for my home base Chicago and, say, Indianapolis, just 200 miles away. I've strictly adhered to the RW route (copied and pasted into the SimBrief Route String box, and then uploaded into the Airbus FMC; see ND display) until I got over the Andes, whence I have (manually) tracked the ridgelines of this mountain range (see images below) ...all the way down to the (IAF) Fix "ROGOK" of ILS Runway 16R/SPJC. 

Of course, I've not forgotten the NOTAM...🙂...and have landed (safely and smoothly) on ILS Runway 16R (NOT 16L). The approach path to this runway is spectacular, with Lima airport (and city) uniquely situated with the (vast) Pacific Ocean to the west and the adjacent (rugged but beautiful) foothills of the Andes to the east (see images). To make my landing experience a bit more unforgettable, I've (magically) transformed my arrival time to evening, enveloping myself (and my PLAY A321) in the resplendent glow of the dusk light...🙂...

The cruise potion of this (long) flight was conducted at 4x simrate, and the flight was completed in one continuous session (with flawless performance from this iniBuilds A321neo)...along with some (unexpected) co-piloting assistance from the other Xbox kid of the family...🙂...though it cost me the (negotiated) procurement of a pack of Klondike (ice-cream) bars (ORIGINAL)...🙂...

Thanks for viewing and happy flying with the SIM of your choice...!

Edited October 18, 2025Oct 18 by P_7878

Fine set of shots !

cheers 😉

Really enjoyed this one! One of your more interesting lengthy flights.

awesome set of shots!!

pmplayer, John, Darren, UrgentS:

Thank you for the responses...!

 

4 hours ago, pmplayer said:

Fine set of shots !

cheers 😉

Appreciated the comment...!

 

4 hours ago, John F said:

Really enjoyed this one! One of your more interesting lengthy flights.

Glad you did...Yes, it was a little different from my (usual) long-haul flights...virtual or real...🙂...I'm used to seeing the nightfall envelope me (and my airliner) quickly enough after 1,000 miles or so, especially when flying eastward, but here, I kept on flying for thousands of miles without the local time budging even just a bit, and daylight persisting...felt weird...so, I'd to intervene to create dusk lighting...🙂...

BTW, John, I believe, in this route here, my PLAY Airlines A321N must have flown over your neighborhood ...🙂...The Toronto-to-Lima RW (non-stop) flight path does pass over eastern U.S., including Pennsylvania, and of course the Appalachians, but these mountains appeared like wrinkles and bumps...🙂...from high above, compared to the Andes, so, didn't make the cut for my selected images...🙂...

 

3 hours ago, darrenvox said:

awesome set of shots!!

Thanks for the kind words, Darren...🙂...!

Edited October 18, 2025Oct 18 by P_7878