Journalism of Courage
In a historic moment for the city, Bengaluru witnessed the arrival of Emirates Airbus A380 at Kempegowda International Airport Friday around 3.40 pm. It marked the first commercial flight of the world’s largest passenger aircraft to the south Indian city.
The aircraft was flown by Captain Nikhil Thiagarajan and Sandeep Prabhu, a Bengalurean.
Satyendra Prabhu, elder brother of Sandeep, speaking to indianexpress.com said: “My brother announced the ‘welcome’ speech in Kannada. He reached out to our parents – Arathi Prabhu and Shivaraya Prabhu – to script the announcement in Kannada and welcome the passengers on board in an authentic and professional manner… He immediately called me after landing and expressed how he enjoyed every bit of the trip.” Sandeep has been a pilot for around 15 years now.
The aircraft landed on the south runway and was then escorted by three ‘follow me’ vehicles to the north runway where it was docked at Gate 44.
The aircraft departed Dubai at local time 10 am and landed in Bengaluru, seven minutes ahead of schedule. The superjumbo was earlier scheduled to arrive on October 30, but the date was moved ahead by over two weeks. At the welcome reception in Bengaluru, the flight carrying 224 passengers was greeted by ST Somashekar, minister of co-operation, Government of Karnataka; H.E. Dr Ahmed Abdel Rahman AlBanna, Ambassador of the UAE to India, and Hari Marar, MD and CEO of Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL).
The double-deck wide-body flight flew back after 7 pm.
Satyaki Raghunath, chief strategy and development officer at BIAL, said: “Bengaluru has become the first city in south India to be served by the Emirates’ flagship A380 services. The arrival of this wide-body aircraft today shows the operational capability and rising passenger demand at BLR Airport. The enhanced premium experience that the new A380 service brings to the Dubai-Bengaluru route will not only meet the strong travel demand but also help to stimulate traffic between the two markets.”
The Emirates launched its first A380 service in India on the Dubai-Mumbai route in 2014 and Bengaluru has become the second city in the country to be served by the iconic aircraft.
Starting October 30, Emirates’ A380 flights between Dubai and Bengaluru will operate as EK568 and EK569. The daily flight is scheduled to leave the airline’s hub at 21:25 hrs, arriving in Bengaluru at 02:30 hrs local time the next day. The return flight departs Kempegowda International Airport at 04:30 hrs, arriving in Dubai at 07:10 hrs (local time). The Emirates also operates two additional daily flights utilizing its other widebody aircraft, the Boeing 777.
At present, the Emirates operates the A380 to over 30 destinations across the globe and plans to deploy the popular aircraft to over 40 destinations by March 2023.
According to the Emirates, the superjumbo weighs between 510 and 575 tonnes. It is as long as two blue whales and as tall as five giraffes. The maximum range of the aircraft is 8,000 nautical miles/15,000 km and it can cruise at an altitude of 43,100 feet. The aircraft has a seating capacity of around 480.
