In a historic moment for the city, Bengaluru witnessed the coming of the Emirates Airbus A380 at Bengaluru, Kempegowda International Airport Friday, December 23, 2022, at almost 3.40 pm. It marked the first commercial flight of the world’s largest passenger aircraft to the south Indian city.
Kempegowda International Airport
The aircraft was flown by Captain Nikhil Thiagarajan and Sandeep Prabhu, a Bangalorean.
Satyendra Prabhu, elder brother of Sandeep, speaking to indianexpress.com told: “My brother declared the ‘welcome’ speech in Kannada.
He reached out to our parents – Arathi Prabhu and Shivaraya Prabhu – to script the announcement in Kannada and welcome the passengers on board in an authentic and professional manner… He immediately called me after landing and expressed how he enjoyed every bit of the trip.” Sandeep has been a pilot for around 15 years now.
The flight landed on the south runway and was then escorted by 3 ‘follow me’ vehicles to the north runway where it was docked at Gate 44.
The aircraft departed Dubai at local time 10 am and landed in Bengaluru, Kempegowda International Airport 7 minutes ahead of schedule.
The superjumbo was earlier scheduled to come on October 30, but the date was moved ahead by over 2 weeks. At the welcome reception in Bengaluru International airport, the flight carrying 224 passengers was greeted by ST Somashekar, minister of co-operation, Government of Karnataka; H.E. Dr. Ahmed Abdel Rahman AlBanna, Ambassador of the UAE to India, and Hari Marar, MD, and CEO of Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL).
Emirates’ flagship A380 services
The double-deck wide-body flight flew back after 7 pm. Satyaki Raghunath, chief strategy and development officer at Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), stated: “Bengaluru has become the 1st city in south India to be served by the Emirates’ flagship A380 services.
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The coming of this wide-body aircraft today shows the operational capability and rising passenger demand at BLR Airport. The enhanced premium experience that the new A380 service brings to the from Dubai to Bengaluru route will not only meet the strong travel demand but also support to stimulate traffic between the 2 markets.”
The Emirates launched its first A380 service in India on the Dubai to Mumbai route in 2014 and Bengaluru has become the second city in the country to be served by the iconic aircraft.
Dubai and India
Beginning October 30, Emirates’ A380 flights service from Dubai and Bengaluru will operate as EK568 and EK569. The daily flight service is scheduled to leave the airline’s hub at 21:25 hrs, coming in Bengaluru airport at 02:30 hrs local time the next day. The return flight departs Kempegowda International Airport at 04:30 hrs, coming to Dubai at 07:10 hrs (local time). The Emirates also operates 2 additional daily flights utilizing its other widebody aircraft, the Boeing 777.
At present, the Emirates operates the A380 to over 30 destinations across the globe and plans to deploy the popular aircraft to over 40 destinations by March next year 2023.
According to the Emirates, the superjumbo weighs between 510 and 575 tonnes. It is as long as 2 blue whales and as tall as 5 giraffes.
The maximum range of the aircraft is 8,000 nautical miles/15,000 km and it can cruise at an altitude of 43,100 feet. The aircraft has a seating capacity of approximately 480.
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