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Today marks the very first landing of the Airbus A380 super jumbo at India’s first Code F compliant airport |
INDIA. The largest passenger aircraft in the world, the Airbus A380, touched down at Hyderabad Rajiv Gandhi International Airport this morning, marking the first landing of the super-jumbo at India’s first Code F compliant airport.
The A380, which took off from Begumpet airport at 6:00am local time, landed at Shamshabad at 6.30am. The plane performed a low fly-pass before landing and docking successfully. A water cannon salute from the Panthers fire-fighters greeted the plane as it landed.
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Code F specification sets the facility requirements an airport must meet to cater for the largest passenger airliners.
GMR-Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) CEO P S Nair said: “It is a momentous day for us. Ours is the first airport in the country that is Code F compliant, where a fully loaded A380 can land. This is the first time that A380 landed at RGIA. We are thankful to Airbus for making it happen.”
“When some global airlines induct this aircraft in their fleet, RGIA will be connected with A380 flights to various international destinations,” said GHIAL Chief Commercial Officer Viswanath Attaluri.
Attaluri added that, with the introduction of A380s, passengers can now fly non-stop to the US and other destinations from Hyderabad.
“This is the second time we have brought the flagship of the 21st Century to India. In 2007 we brought the test aircraft to Delhi and Mumbai and showcased the integration of the aircraft into the existing airport facilities. Today the most modern airliner landed in the most modern airport,” added Airbus Executive Vice President Kiran Rao.
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