Information received indicates that China Airlines Airbus A330-300 B-18306 has been returned off lease and was arranged to leave Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in the evening. At publication, no formal airline announcement confirming this aircraft's lease return or handover arrangements had been obtained. The reported lease status should be distinguished from what public flight-tracking data establishes.
Flightradar24's B-18306 page lists flight CI77 departing Taipei Taoyuan (TPE) on October 21, 2026, with 14:19 UTC in its actual-departure field, equivalent to 10:19 p.m. Taipei time that day. No destination is provided, and the status does not clearly establish that the flight has been completed. The entry therefore does not confirm its final destination, arrival time or completion of a lease-return handover.
Public tracking data identifies B-18306 as an A330-302, part of the A330-300 series. Returning a leased aircraft to its lessor does not necessarily mean permanent withdrawal from flying or dismantling. Whether this aircraft will be leased again, sold or assigned another role remains unknown.
China Airlines has been renewing its fleet. In a 2023 announcement on its 787 orders, it said the incoming aircraft would replace A330-300s. Its first investor presentation of 2026 projected reducing the A330-300 fleet from 13 at the end of 2025 to seven by the end of 2026. Those figures describe the plan at the time, not individual confirmation of B-18306's lease return or proof that the fleet reduction has already been completed.
