ISLAMABAD: The world’s biggest passenger aeroplane, Airbus A380 landed atthe new Islamabad International Airport on Sunday.
According to Gulf News, in a landmark for Pakistan’s aviation history, theEmirates’ special one-off A380 flight to Islamabad took off from Dubai onSunday morning with celebrities, officials and journalists on board. Itarrived at the Islamabad airport at 12:10 pm (PST).
According to Gulf News, Captain Fazle Ghani, who operated the firstEmirates flight to Pakistan in 1985, was on board as a special guest. Alsoon board were Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UAE Moazzam Ahmed Khan andEmirates’ Divisional Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations CentreShaikh Majid Al Mualla among others.
Although this was a one-off flight, Emirates wants to make the A380 aregular daily flight between Dubai and Islamabad in the future.
“We are proud to bring our flagship A380 aircraft to Islamabad, and we lookforward to showcasing our innovative products onboard this iconic aircraftwith the signature Emirates service. While this is a special flight, we arevery keen to launch a scheduled A380 service to Pakistan and will continueto work with authorities to realise these plans,” Shaikh Majid Al Muallasaid.
The A380 weighs 577 tons, its length is 240 feet and the wingspan is 260feet. The double-decker plane stands 80-foot high from the ground and has aspeed of 945 kilometres per hour with its four powerful turbo engines.
The Islamabad International Airport is designed as “Y” shape and spreadsover 19 square kilometres with 15 passenger boarding bridges. It includesfacilities to accommodate two double-deck A380, as many as 15 remote baysand seven remote bays for small aircraft.