World’s biggest aircraft begins Scottish flights
● Emirates’ double-decker superjumbo starts Glasgow flights
Flights using the world’s largest passenger aircraft will operate from Scotland until September.
A daily Emirates’ Airbus A380 service between Glasgow and Dubai was launched last night. Officials at Glasgow Airport have declared their confidence in winning the 489-passenger aircraft back next summer.
Glasgow Airport is understood to be confident of winning back the world’s largest passenger aircraft next summer after an Airbus A380 landed last night to launch its first daily flights from Scotland until September.
The debut for the doubledecker plane on Emirates’ Dubai route is likely to provide a much-needed boost for Glasgow, which expects to lose nearly one million passengers from Ryanair and other airlines scrapping routes.
It is only the second time the 489-passenger aircraft has come to Scotland, after a oneoff visit in 2014 to mark the route’s tenth anniversary.
Emirates said the A380 would fly the route only until 30 September, but it is expected to return next year.
The A380 has been drafted in while one of Dubai’s runways
is closed for upgrading, restricting flights.
The aircraft will replace Emirates’ twice-daily Glasgow flights until 31 May.
The double-daily service will be reinstated in June, with a
A380 operating the first flight, and a Boeing 777 the second one. From October, the twicedaily service will revert to Boeing 777s.
An Emirates spokesperson said: “For now, Emirates is
only looking at a temporary deployment of an A380 to Glasgow, to ensure minimum disruption during Dubai’s southern runway closure for upgrade works and to meet seasonal summer demand.”
Glasgow Airport has described the route as one of its “biggest success stories”, carrying more than four million passengers, many flying on to Asia and Australia.
Glasgow Airport managing director Mark Johnston has hailed the A380 service as a “huge milestone” and a “first in Scottish aviation industry”.
He said: “Our intention is to get it next year as well.”
The airport has spent £8 million on improvements to accommodate the aircraft, including a triple air bridge to cope with the volume of passengers.
Aviation consultant John Strickland, of JLS Consulting, said: “Ordinarily, the Glasgow route would not be ideal for the A380, runway work excluded.
“Better to offer two bites at the cherry with two 777s feeding into a wider range of connection options at Dubai than a once-daily service permits.”
However, Edinburgh Airport – Scotland’s busiest – has no plans to try to attract an A380 service to the capital.
It is focusing on smaller, fuel-efficient aircraft such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to provide new long-haul links.
The airport is also keen on increasing the frequency of flights rather than seeing them operated by larger planes.