Qantas to Resume Airbus A380 Service

Qantas has announced that the airlines will restart Airbus A380 operations from Saturday, 27th Saturday.

The announcement comes three weeks after one of the A380 engines exploded during a flight to Australia. Following this explosion, the airlines grounded its whole fleet of A380 planes.

Earlier this month, Qantas Flight QF32 was forced to make an emergency landing in Singapore following an explosion in one of its Rolls Royce Trent 900 engines. The decision to restore A380 services comes close on the heels of the intensive inspection that was carried out in consultation with Rolls Royce and Airbus. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) was also consulted during the inspection.

The news comes as a great respite for those travellers who had booked cheap flights well in advance and were looking forward to fly aboard the popular A380 of Qantas, the national carrier of Australia.

Initially, Qantas will run a single A380 on routes between Australia and the United Kingdom. As other A380s become functional, the airlines will gauge how to best position them.

A380 planes for flights to Melbourne and Sydney from Los Angeles will remain grounded for indefinite period of time. It must be noted that Los Angeles to Melbourne is one of the most popular flights of Qantas.

In keeping with its conservative approach to operational safety, the airline is terminating A380 services on routes that call for the use of utmost certified engine thrust.

The company said in a statement released yesterday, “Qantas is now satisfied that it can begin reintroducing A380s to its international network progressively. As more A380s become serviceable, Qantas will assess when and how best to deploy them, consistent with its conservative approach over the past weeks.”

The media reports, quoting the investigation into the matter had indicated last week that it could take as long as December before problems sorted out for A380s to take to the skies again. Many people who managed to net cheap flights to travel aboard A380 with Qantas were disappointed and anticipated trouble with their travel in the last couple of weeks.