Bengaluru’s Nikhil and Sandeep who piloted Emirates A380 on cloud nine after historic flight to city

Thiagarajan told indianexpress.com that the touchdown in Bengaluru last Friday was indeed a great ‘milestone’ in his career. “As I consider Bengaluru my hometown, it was very exciting to have the opportunity to fly the aircraft into this airport. It was an honour to land on the runway in particular as it was the first commercial flight operated with an A380, so I honestly felt privileged. Throughout the flight, excitement was building onboard as we approached the destination. Seeing the warm welcome at the airport was also a proud moment for me. It made the trip very rewarding,” he said.

Interestingly, the first officer Prabhu also made the announcements in Kannada – a script given to him by his parents Arathi Prabhu and Shivaraya Prabhu.

Sharing his experience with indianexpress.com, Prabhu said, “It was a very special day for the whole team and Emirates, and we wanted to share the joy with our passengers too. So, we had a special passenger announcement in Kannada onboard the flight that day. Also, being from Bengaluru myself made the experience extra special, to fly into my hometown for the first time in the world’s largest passenger aircraft.”

Prabhu also added that it was indeed a great pleasure to assist Nikhil during the first landing in our hometown. “It was a suggestion from Captain Nikhil to have a special surprise for our maiden flight. The added passenger announcement in Kannada felt genuine and meaningful.”

Elaborating on the technicalities of the aircraft, Prabhu said that the A380 is a double-decker aircraft that can travel up to 8,000 nautical miles without refueling, thus allowing it to leapfrog hub airports and reduce travel time.

The A380 is also one of the quietest aircraft due to its state-of-the-art aerodynamic design, he said.

Prabhu also highlighted that despite the size, the aircraft is extremely responsive and equipped with advanced flight control and innovations that are reliable, efficient, and safe.

Emirates launched its first A380 service in India on the Dubai-Mumbai route in 2014 and Bengaluru became the second Indian city to get the service of the aircraft.

Starting October 30, Emirates’ A380 flights between Dubai and Bengaluru will operate as EK568 and EK569. The daily flight leaves the airline’s hub at 21:25 hrs and will arrive in Bengaluru at 02:30 hrs local time the next day. The return flight departs the Kempegowda International Airport at 04:30 hrs and will arrive in Dubai at 07:10 hrs (local time).