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First Qantas A380 returns to Australia
November 9th 2021
A Qantas A380 returned to Australian shores today as the airline began the process of taking five of its superjumbos out of storage well ahead of an original schedule of late 2023. Read More » The aircraft, called Hudson Fysh after one of the airline’s founders and registered as VH-OQB, landed in Sydney this afternoon local time after flying from Dresden in Germany. It was the first time it had touched down in Australia since it departed the land down under 593 days ago on its journey to long-term storage in the Californian desert. The aircraft was in Germany undergoing scheduled maintenance for new landing gear. It will be one of two A380s returning to service in April next year following strong demand for international travel. Qantas will schedule two of the giant aircraft on flights to Los Angeles from April and three more on its London services from July. Hudson Fysh will undergo additional maintenance checks in Australia before taking to the skies again in coming weeks as part of crew training. “Many of our crew have found other jobs during the pandemic doing everything from working in vaccination hubs and hospital wards to driving buses and tractors and painting houses,” said Qantas chief pilot, Richard Tobiano. “Over the next few months, pilots will undergo extensive retraining including simulator sessions, training flights and classroom courses to prepare for take-off.”
