Airbus is in the final stretch of activities before delivery of the last produced A380. The MSN 272 aircraft carried out the last pre-delivery flight on Sunday, departing from Hamburg and remaining in flight for almost 5 hours.
The last A380 will be delivered to Emirates Airline in December, marking the end of production of the largest passenger plane in history.
The Dubai-based airline received the penultimate A380, registration E6-EVR, last week. The aircraft took off from Germany on December 10, heading for the United Arab Emirates, where it joins the company’s fleet.
To mark the historic moment, Airbus pilots drew a heart as part of the flight path set in northern Germany.
With the delivery of the last A380, Emirates will have a fleet of 121 active aircraft. The carrier, however, has already retired two of these two-deck jets, one of which will be turned into memorabilia.
In all, Airbus has secured 251 firm orders for the A380. Of these, eight aircraft have been dismantled so far, not counting two also scrapped prototypes.
