A380 lands in Joburg

2010-02-18 17:04

Johannesburg - The first commercial flight of the world's largest passenger plane landed at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg on Thursday, the Airports Company of SA (Acsa) said.

Acsa spokesperson Solomon Makgale said the Air France-KLM Airbus A380 landed at 11:06 after a direct flight from Paris.

"This is the second time the A380 has landed at OR Tambo International Airport," Makgale said.

"The first time was in November 2006, when its manufacturer, Airbus Industries, successfully conducted proving tests."

Air France-KLM was the first airline to use the aircraft at OR Tambo International Airport.

Makgale said the aircraft will become a regular feature at the airport.

"Acsa invested more than R200m to make the airport compliant with new, large-aircraft requirements by doing shoulder and taxiways upgrades, developing new aprons, longer baggage belts, and larger passenger holding and boarding gates," said Makgale.

Depending on the configuration, the A380 can carry 30% more passengers when compared to a Boeing 747.

"To manage the additional passengers, we have four contact stands with dual air bridges to load and off-load passengers from the double-decker aircraft, with two remote stands, two 90m baggage carousels that will take more baggage and reduce passengers' waiting time."

Makgale said the runway had to be upgraded. Its width was increased from 60m to 75m and the taxiway widths from 30m to 60m.

"The A380 will result in efficient use of our infrastructure, particularly during busy periods such as the upcoming 2010 World Cup and December holidays, as fewer aircraft can be used to carry more passengers."

- SAPA