Birmingham Airport prepares for the arrival of new super-jumbo
BIRMINGHAM Airport is putting the finishing touches to its infrastructure ahead of the first flights from the hub of the mighty Airbus A380.
As part of an upgrade to its services, airline Emirates has announced that it will begin operating the double-decked airline airliner on its EK39/40 service between Dubai and Birmingham from March 27.
This will be the first time the giant plane has flown a regular service from the region, and its arrival coincides with Emirates’ 15th anniversary at Birmingham Airport.
The plane flew into the airport in September 2009 as part of the hub’s 70th anniversary celebrations and to mark the opening of its International Pier.
While the airport’s runway extension has now been completed, enabling it to offer new routes to airlines, it has also presented several logistical challenges, chief amongst them the embarking and disembarking of passengers.
As the airliner is much higher than normal planes, the airport has had to construct a special airbridge (see video below) at its International Pier so that passengers can access the airliner.
The A380 will replace the current Boeing 777 used by the airline on the route.
It will operate a two-class service capable of carrying 557 passengers in Economy and 58 in Business Class.
Birmingham will be only the fifth route operating the new two-class A380 since it was unveiled at the Dubai Airshow in November last year by Emirates. The upgrade will increase daily capacity to and from the region by 15%, and means Emirates will now offer 77 A380 flights into the UK each week, more than any other country on the Emirates network.
Laurie Berryman, Emirates Vice President, UK, said: “In 15 years of operating at Birmingham, Emirates has experienced exceptional levels of growth driven by an increase in demand from the Midlands. The A380 is hugely popular amongst our passengers as it provides a unique level of service that has become synonymous with the Emirates brand. We are very excited to be the first airline to introduce the iconic A380 into the region and look forward to more of our customers enjoying the experience of flying on the world’s largest passenger aircraft.”
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