Seven days, 100 tests, and more than 2000 people involved: the A380’s compatibility at Dubai International Airport has been successfully demonstrated.

With an onboard team of almost 80 Airbus personnel who participated in the test programme, the 21st century flagship aircraft took off from Dubai at 10am, having effectively concluded a rigorous campaign of operability tests, both in normal and extreme temperature conditions.

During its week-long Dubai visit, marking one of the longest customer trials for Airbus, the aircraft, MSN 007, was the centrepiece of numerous compatibility tests including taxiway, runway and ground support equipment tests, as well as docking trials at the terminal gate and in the state-of-the-art Emirates Engineering Centre.

In order to familiarise its staff with the world’s largest commercial passenger aircraft, Emirates, jointly with Airbus, conducted four test flights that brought into play all key units of the airline such as Airport Services, Inflight Catering, Cabin Crew, Flight Operations, Cargo, Inflight Systems, Engineering and Maintenance, Group Security, and Dnata Airport Operations.

From the time the test campaign was conceived, Emirates was clear – tests must be as real as possible and conducted under typical airline conditions. Two of the test flights were operated in the morning when Dubai International Airport was at its busiest, followed by two flights later in the afternoon. The flights, each two hours long and flown over the UAE, were operated at almost 80 per cent load factor – the average seat factor experienced by the Dubai-based airline.

Emirates has ordered 55 A380s. With forecasts indicating a doubling of air traffic in the next 15 years, and a corresponding increase in flight frequencies not being an option on many routes due to slot constraints, the A380 – the world’s largest aircraft – is aptly designed for world growth, while minimising impact on the environment at the same time.

Emirates flies five times weekly from Dubai to Malta via Larnaca in Cyprus, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays on the Boeing 777-200.