Emirates’ A380 joins Hamburg Airport centenary celebrations

Tuesday, 27 September 2011 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Emirates has sent its first scheduled A380 into Hamburg Airport as part of the airport’s 100th anniversary celebrations.

The 489-seat flagship of the Emirates’ fleet touched down in Hamburg on 24th September replacing EK flight 59 and under the command of Captain Fritz Wildt from the German city of Munich and Hauke Smid from Hamburg.

Thousands of spectators joined the weekend of celebrations in Hamburg, lining viewing platforms to catch a glimpse of the world’s largest passenger jet – this time displaying a special centenary sticker.

“This is the first time Emirates and indeed any airline has conducted a scheduled A380 service into Hamburg, said Tim Clark, President, Emirates Airline.”

This is very much a case of our double-decker returning to the home of its final stages of production. Hamburg is immensely important to us, both as gateway into Germany and for the skilled finishing work conducted on our magnificent A380 fleet.”

“The day of 24 September was very special for Hamburg Airport. We not only celebrated our 100th birthday together with the whole of Northern Germany, we also welcomed the first scheduled A380 service to Hamburg,” said Michael Eggenschwiler, CEO of Hamburg Airport. “My thanks go out to Emirates, who made this possible. Our guests had an unforgettable day with the Emirates’ superjumbo as a highlight.”

Joining Tim Clark on the Hamburg flight was Salem Obaidalla, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Europe & Russian Federation and VIP guests. They were welcomed at Hamburg Airport by a delegation including the Lord Mayor of Hamburg, Olaf Scholz and Michael Eggenschwiler, the airport’s CEO.

Emirates is the world’s most significant buyer and operator of the A380 and one of the largest customers for the Airbus A350 aircraft. The A380 programme alone is estimated to provide at least 40,000 direct and indirect German jobs. The airline currently has 15 double-deckers in service and a further 75 on order.

As part of the airport anniversary activities, Emirates provided the winners of a media competition with a special tour of the A380, along with other invited guests. Members of the airline’s sponsored HSV football team also joined the celebrations.

Emirates is looking to hire 4,000 cabin crew this financial year to support its expansion and was recruiting on-site as part of the weekend event.

After being seen by thousands of people – up close and from afar – the A380 left Hamburg yesterday afternoon to return to Dubai, on this occasion replacing the scheduled EK flight 60.

Emirates operates to four points in Germany; Hamburg, which is now double daily, Frankfurt, Dusseldorf and Munich, which will be served with an A380 from 1 January next year. Emirates SkyCargo also operates eleven weekly freighter flights to Germany, contributing to a multi-billion US dollar trade relationship with the UAE.