Airline flies empty A380s to nowhere to keep its pilots flight-ready – The National

Airline flies empty A380s to nowhere to keep its pilots flight-ready – The National

Ensuring crew stay certified is one of the challenges carriers face as they grapple with the pandemic





























An Airbus A380. Asiana Airlines flew its A380s over South Korea for a few hours a day for three days in May to enable pilots of the 495-seat superjumbo to practice taking off and landing. Bloomberg  





















July 23, 2020



July 23, 2020













Airlines are taking extreme measures to survive the pandemic, with Asiana Airlines flying the world's biggest commercial plane more than 20 times, going nowhere and carrying no passengers, just to keep trainee pilots certified.



Keeping crew flight-ready is one of the challenges carriers face as they grapple with the unprecedented crisis that keeps more than a third of the world's fleet grounded.





The empty Airbus A380 flew over South Korea for a few hours a day for three days in May to enable pilots of the 495-seat superjumbo to practice taking off and landing. The alternative - a trip to Thailand to use a simulator owned by Thai Airways International - was blocked because