The current buzzword in the Indian aviation industry is the giant airbus A380. Reason being the superjumbo airbus recently touched the Indian runway and wowed the onlookers with its mighty build.
Yes! You heard it right; the Indian civil aviation ministry has lifted the ban imposed in 2008 on the ground that operation of A380s could work against the interest of Indian passenger carriers.
Singapore Airlines became the first to operate the world’s largest passenger carrier aircraft to India, with its launch at the Delhi’s Indira Gandhi airport on May 30th 2014. The aircraft was greeted with the traditional water cannon salute by the DIAL’s team, usual greeting accorded on such launches.
For the number crunchers, the A 380 flight has 471 seats (399 in economy, 60 in business and 12 in suites) and is slated to operate on a daily basis to and fro the Delhi – Mumbai – Singapore route. Going by the economics, the A380 is capable to accommodate around 850 passengers, which can easily give tough competition to its rival Rajdhani train.
The airbus A380 is a wide-body, double-deck, four-engine jet airliner. It is the world’s largest passenger aircraft, and many airports have upgraded their runways and other facilities to accommodate it because of its size.
Lifting a five-year-old ban, the government cleared the decks for A-380 operations from Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore in January.
Taking cue from Singapore Airlines, biggies such as Emirates, Qantas and Lufthansa are also following suit and making a beeline to enter the Indian airspace. Needless to say, with the advent of A380, coupled with the new and stable government, the aviation industry is expected to witness a huge surge in the days to come.