30.5.14

Mumbai gets ready for the A380



On Thursday, the Mumbai airport was abuzz with preparations to handle Airbus 380 flights, the largest passenger aircraft in the world that can seat a maximum of 853 flyers, on in full swing.
From Friday , Singapore Airlines will commence daily A380 flights into Mumbai and Delhi. The double-decker A380's date with the city has been long overdue as the first super jumbo passenger flight was operated way back by Singapore Airlines in 2007.
The Singapore-Mumbai flight is scheduled to land at 9.55 pm and will take off on its return leg at 12.25 am. The carrier will operate 14 flights per week to both Mumbai and New Delhi with an Airbus A380 aircraft that has a total capacity of 471 seats across suites, business class and economy class. From July 21, Dubai-based Emirates, which has placed an order for 140 A380s, will launch daily super jumbo flights into the city.
At present, about 10 airlines operate the A380 and over 50 million passengers have flown the super jumbo as it operates to 35-odd airports across the world. The double-decker A380 is serviced by a two-tier aerobridge. The Mumbai airport currently has one special two-tier aerobridge and will soon add three more, said an airport official. “Three senior personnel who handle aerobridge operations have been sent to Singapore to train to use these two-tier bridges so that there are no glitches when the A380 lands in the city ,“ the official added.
As Terminal 2 has 10 conveyor belts, the airport operator does not expect the super jumbo to hamper airport functioning. “We have also informed taxi unions to be prepared to handle the increased passenger load,“ the official said.


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