With the reopening of Australia's borders, Qantas is preparing to reactivate its Airbus A380 fleet. The first will arrive in Sydney next week, with another nine A380s to be gradually reactivated. The lucky super jumbo is VH-OQB, named Hudson Fysh. It is currently hosted by Dresden Airport, Germany.
The aircraft will fly to Australia and be prepared for the resumption of commercial flights. At the same time, the flight crew will enter a process of preparation to return to flight on this type of aircraft.
After this break of several months, the A380 aircraft need thorough checks and additional maintenance to become fit for flight with passengers on board. This will be done at the Qantas technical hangar in Sydney.
Initially, Qantas announced that its fleet of 12 Airbus A380s would be retained on the ground until 2023, with much of the fleet being preserved in the California desert at Victorville.
Qantas officials said the quick decision to reactivate the A380s was made after demand increased on the Sydney-Los Angeles and Sydney-London routes. It is a joy for those who want to fly with this model of plane.
But we must mention that not all A380 Qantas will return to flight, two of which are already scheduled for withdrawal from the fleet. This marks the beginning of the end of the Qantas A380 aircraft fleet, as Airbus has given up the A380 program and is preparing to deliver the latest super-jumbo.
Unfortunately, more and more airlines have decided to give up four-engine aircraft in the current context of the pandemic, but also because of financial problems.