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Source:
www.changi.airport.com.sg |
Changi Airport First to Welcome Airbus A380 Flight
Out of Europe |
Changi Airport is A380-ready with major modification
works completed |
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Singapore Changi Airport became the first
airport outside Europe to welcome the Airbus A380 when the super jumbo
double-decker aircraft arrived here at 1000 hours today for airport
compatibility verification tests. |
Changi is also the first airport where the
inaugural A380 commercial flight will take-off from next year. |
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While the A380 aircraft is in Singapore ,
the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), which develops and
manages Changi Airport, will engage in a series of tests with Airbus
technical personnel to ensure that airport modifications and
enhancements being developed for the A380 aircraft adequately meet its
needs. |
This includes appraising the new third
Passenger Loading Bridge (PLB) or what is more commonly known as the
third aerobridge, which allows passengers direct access to the upper
deck of the A380. |
The third PLB was deployed as soon as the
aircraft docked at Gate F31 this morning. Gate F31 is the first gate at
Changi Airport's Terminal 2 that was modified to accommodate A380
operations. The A380 aircraft will also be using Changi Airport's
runways and taxiways that have been modified to meet international
safety requirements for the new large aircraft. |
"The arrival of the A380 aircraft today
shows that Changi Airport is ready to handle A380 flights, which we have
been planning for since the late 1990s. It also provides CAAS with an
early opportunity to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of Changi
Airport's infrastructure, equipment and operating procedures. In
particular, we are excited that Changi is the first airport in the world
to have a completed third PLB ready for simulation tests with the A380
aircraft," said Mr Wong Woon Liong, Director-General of Civil Aviation,
CAAS. |
CAAS is spending S$60 million on
modification works to get Changi Airport's Terminal 1 and Terminal 2
ready for A380 operations. |
Besides Gate F31 which has been modified,
CAAS has also completed the expansion of one more A380-compatible gate
holdroom in Terminal 2, Gate E5, including the installation of an
additional gangway and a third PLB. |
Nine other existing gate holdrooms in
Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 are similarly being modified. The future
Terminal 3 will have another eight A380-compatible gates bringing the
total number of A380-compatible gates at the airport to 19. Each of the
19 gates will have three PLBs. |
In addition, three out of four baggage claim
carousels serving A380 flights in Terminal 2 have been extended to
accommodate more luggage, while two A380-ready baggage claim belts in
Terminal 1 will be ready by next year. Other modification works include
the widening of runways' shoulders as well as runway-taxiway and
taxiway-taxiway intersections. |
Besides making modifications to existing
infrastructure, CAAS has constructed two new freighter aircraft stands
and two remote aircraft parking stands for A380 flights. Shields have
also been installed along each side of a taxiway bridge to contain the
effect of the A380 jet blast. Similar shields are being installed at
another taxiway bridge at Changi Airport. |
More..... |
Source:
www.changi.airport.com.sg
Press Release 11 Nov 2005 |
Related Articles: |
-
First Gate at Singapore Changi Airport ready for Airbus A380 |
-
Singapore Airlines to be first to fly Airbus A380 |
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