BuaNews (Tshwane)
21 October 2007
Singapore — The world's largest aircraft, the Airbus A380, landed at Singapore's Changi Airport this week, heralding the arrival of a new era in aviation.
The aircraft will begin commercial service with a flight to Sydney later this month.
The aircraft, dubbed the Superjumbo, touched down at about 6.40pm after a 13-hour flight from Airbus headquarters in Toulouse France, to a grand welcoming ceremony attended by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore Airlines Chairman Stephen Lee and Airbus Chief Executive Officer John Leahy.
The superjumbo, which is capable of carrying more than 800 passengers but is usually configured to carry around 550 passengers in three classes, will make its first commercial flight from Singapore to Sydney on 25 October and will return the next day.
Singapore Airlines (SIA), the first to fly the giant aircraft, will then begin scheduled service with the A380 on the Singapore-Sydney route on 28 October, and Singapore-London in the first quarter of next year.
Mr Lee described the event as a milestone in aviation history, "just like when the first jumbo jet started flying in 1970".
"With its latest addition SIA is once again making waves by being the first to operate the largest commercial airliner ever built. The A380 will give SIA the advantages of greater efficiency, lower fuel emissions and less noise than existing long-haul jets," he added.
The A380 will also provide more capacity for SIA's key high-density markets, and maximise the use of limited landing slots at congested airports worldwide.
Describing SIA as a national icon, Mr Lee said the airline had worked hard to keep its lead year after year.
The arrival of the A380 was also a milestone for Changi Airport. It will be the first airport in the world to handle commercial A380 operations. Both its terminal one and two, and the soon-to-be-opened terminal three are A380-ready.
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