In case no one already noticed, today was Friday the 13th, the second of its kind in 2017 (with the first being in January). It also marked the last time Flight 666 is traveling to HEL – which is Helsinki’s airport code. While it is not the first time Finnair’s flight AY666 has flown to HEL on this unluckiest of days, it will be its last.

Flight 666 flew to HEL for the last time

As reported by ABC News, Finavia, operator for Finland’s 21 airports, announced that the flight from Copenhagen in Denmark went off with no complications and even managed to land at Helsinki Vantaa airport eight minutes early.

The airline started the AY666 flight 11 years ago and has reportedly flown on Friday the 13th on 21 occasions, with nothing untoward happening.

However, despite that, Finnair is changing around some of their flight numbers this month and has decided to retire AY666 and rename is AY954. It was fun while it lasted and the New York Post gave it a video send-off.

Why is Friday the 13th considered unlucky?

In case you have ever wondered why today’s date is considered to be a bad omen, the Telegraph has come up with some possibilities.

According to their report, the superstition over the unlucky day is said to date back to the Middle Ages and could have Biblical origins. Among other options, they mention the fact that according to the New Testament, 13 people were present for the Last Supper with Jesus, which was held on Maundy Thursday, the day prior to Christ’s Good Friday crucifixion.

Another possible source was quoted by Dan Brown in his book “Da Vinci Code,” which states that the Templar Grand Master Jacques de Molay was executed in the 14th century, on Friday the 13th. He is said to have cursed the King of France and the Pope and that this misfortune was then passed down through the ages.

Among a series of bad luck events that have occurred on Friday the 13th, that article mentions a 13-year-old boy who died in the U.K. in 2010 after being struck by lightning at 13:13 on Friday 13th. While many people think its safest to stay in bed to pass the unlucky day, this doesn’t always work. Reportedly Daz Baxter of New York was so afraid of Friday 13th back in 1976, he stayed in bed. Baxter ended up dying on his floor of the apartment block collapsed on that day.

Paraskavedekatriaphobia rules

However, if you are afraid of this particular date, you are not alone.

Psychologists have even named the phobia related to Friday the 13th with a wonderful, unpronounceable word, paraskavedekatriaphobia. On a final and interesting note, when the writer answered a survey on the Telegraph website that asked readers if they are afraid of the unlucky date, 100 percent responded “no.”
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