Global traveller returns home

The world’s largest commercial airliner, the 555-seat Airbus A380, has successfully completed a series of technical route proving missions. Technical route proving is the last of the trials required for Type Certification, which is expected in mid-December.

Returning from its final route that took it over the North Pole, the MSN002 landed in Toulouse, France yesterday at 1.30 pm local time. This final flight left Vancouver, Canada under heavy snow conditions, on Wednesday 29 November at 4.25 pm local time.

The exercise took the A380 MSN002 across the globe on an 18-day trip, stopping at ten airports in the Asia/Pacific region. During the trials, the aircraft flew approximately 69,000nm / 127,788km in some 152 flight hours, with all flights performed on schedule. The aircraft was operated by Airbus flight crews. The Airworthiness Authority pilots from the European Aviation Safety Agency and the US Federal Aviation Administration also participated in the technical route proving and flew the aircraft on four legs.