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?Superjumbo? Airbus A380 debuts in India

Singapore International Airlines (SIA) on Friday became the first and the only airline company in the world to launch commercial services

Singapore International Airlines (SIA) on Friday became the first and the only airline company in the world to launch commercial services on the Airbus A380 in India, four months after the civil aviation ministry lifted its six-year ban on the world’s largest aircraft by size as well as passenger capacity.

Popularly known as the ‘Superjumbo’ and the ‘Big Bird’, the A380 was banned in 2008 because the Indian government feared the commercial aircraft would favour foreign airlines, by taking a large chunk of global traffic away from the Indian carriers? interests.

The first flight of this long-haul, wide-body and fully double-decker aircraft landed around 8.45 pm at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi on Friday. In a separate flight, the aircraft landed at 9.49 pm ? six minutes before the scheduled time ? at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai.

Special arrangements were made to handle the large number of passengers and the A380 aircraft was given a ‘water-salute’ upon landing by the fire brigade.

?People are celebrating and the atmosphere they (SIA) have created is fantastic. I am looking forward to travel,? said a business-class passenger before departure on the Mumbai-bound flight.

The SIA’s variant of the A380 can carry 471 passengers (399 in economy, 60 in business and 12 in suites). ?Suite? is SIA?s first-class product on the A380, which offers full beds.

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First published on: 01-06-2014 at 22:15 IST
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