Shannon lands A380 emergency base Tuesday, August 06, 2013 By Pat Flynn British Airways has confirmed Shannon Airport as its preferred option as a diversionary airport if the Airbus A380 ‘Superjumbo’ needs to make an unscheduled landing. The airline’s first-delivered A380 jet, the largest passenger airliner in the world, paid a “familiarisation visit” to the airport last week. British Airways will commence long-haul operations with the jet in the autumn on a Heathrow to Los Angeles route. Once the flight commences its Atlantic crossing, Shannon will be the nearest suitable airport for crews if they have to turn around. If the issue is technical and not of an urgent nature, the crew will probably return to Heathrow or land in Cardiff, where the airline already has a maintenance base. If, however, the aircraft is involved in an emergency of greater urgency, the crew will divert to Shannon. Such incidents could include serious technical/ mechanical problems, security issues, and medical emergencies. A spokeswoman for the airline confirmed: “The visit to Shannon went very well. It was part of a process to test the ability of airports in the British Isles and Ireland to handle the aircraft in the event of a diversion. “We understand that Dublin is capable of managing an A380 but Shannon would be our preferred airport following our flight there. We currently have no plans to use any airports in Northern Ireland for diversion purposes.” British Airways A380 pilot Capt Mike Blythe said during his visit to Shannon: “The reason we brought the A380 Shannon was to familiarise ourselves with the airport because this is potentially a diversionary airport for us when operating into London. “The outboard engines and the wing tips extend out over the edge of the runway and taxiways here and that’s what you have to be real careful about. We need to be able to manoeuvre the aircraft around and park it safely and our visit went very well.” While the Airbus A380 can carry a maximum 853 passengers, British Airways has opted for a four class configuration with a total of 469 seats. “The fact that you have so many people on board multiplies your probability of have more issues on board, perhaps medically,” said Capt Blythe. Shannon Airport confirmed: “Procedures are in place to handle this aircraft type in the unlikely event one has to divert. “This plan has been formulated following discussions with some airlines that operate this aircraft type.”
Posted on: Tue, 06 Aug 2013 22:48:01 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015