Emirates made history yesterday (16 April) by bringing its Airbus A380 to Glasgow Airport – and launching the first regular service of the iconic aircraft to Scotland.
The aircraft touched down on Glaswegian soil at 19:34h (local time). The A380 is the world’s largest passenger aircraft, with a wingspan of 79.8 metres – more than twice the height of Glasgow Cathedral. It can accommodate 489 passengers.
To prepare to receive the A380 on a regular basis, Glasgow Airport has invested significantly to upgrade its infrastructure, as the aircraft can weigh up to 575 tonnes.
The arrival of the A380 marks a new daily service between Glasgow and Dubai that will run from 16 April until 30 September 2019. Thereafter, the service will revert to a twice daily Boeing 777 operation.
While an A380 aircraft has touched down in Scotland before, this is the first time in history an A380 has been in regular service to Scotland.
The new A380 service coincides with Emirates’ 15th anniversary of flying from Glasgow. Since the introduction of the Glasgow Dubai service in 2004, over 4.5 million passengers have travelled between the two cities and further afield through Emirates’ network of 158 destinations.
Emirates is the world’s largest A380 operator and since 2008, the airline has flown over 150 million passengers on its A380 fleet.
Other UK destinations to which Emirates flies include London Heathrow, London Gatwick, London Stansted, Birmingham, Newcastle, Manchester and Edinburgh.
