On April 27, 2005, the world’s largest commercial aircraft took to the sky.
Soaring above Toulouse on its first-ever test flight, Airbus’ A380 put the wings in motion for a super-sized era of air travel – one filled with double-decker cabins, fully enclosed apartments and on-board shower spas.
Today, on the 15th anniversary of its maiden flight, only one A380 is currently in the sky. The coronavirus pandemic has forced the majority of the world’s superjumbos to the ground until further notice.
According to global flight tracking service Flightradar24, the only A380 currently in the sky is China Southern’s flight CZ328. The superjumbo departed Los Angeles around midnight on Monday, April 27 on a 13-hour flight towards Guangzhou. It is scheduled to land in China just before 6am on Tuesday, April 28.
Several airlines own A380 aircraft and, pre-pandemic, one of the jets took off or landed somewhere in the world every two minutes.
Emirates is the biggest fan of the aircraft, as the Dubai airline accounts for nearly half of all A380s sold. Sixteen other airlines also own A380s including Etihad, British Airways, All Nippon, Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa and Asiana. Before the coronavirus travel restrictions were implemented, this combined fleet made 330 flights per day, with services to more than 70 destinations.
Super-sized flying
More than 400 airports around the world are compatible with the aircraft, which is the largest passenger jet in history with a seating capacity of up to 853 and a maximum take-off weight of 575 tonnes.
The scale of the A380 is what allowed the world’s airlines to get creative when it came to flying. Emirates installed shower spas and an upper deck lounge on its jets while Etihad introduced The Residence, the only three-bedroom apartment in the sky. Singapore Airlines created first class suites with everything you’d expect from a luxury hotel room, and Korean Airways super-sized its A380 business seats and gave each one an individual sized movie theatre.
But bigger isn’t always better, especially in unprecedented situations. Several airlines around the world have grounded passenger flights and turned their focus instead to cargo and repatriation services.
The A380 has been used for a few of these special services, but as demand for repatriation drops, it is becoming less economical for airlines to continue operating such large jets. Smaller, more fuel-efficient aircraft are being prioritised to service repatriation efforts.
As the largest commercial jet in the sky, the A380 may have record-breaking seating capacity, wingspan and height, but it cannot match newer, more efficient aircraft on fuel consumption.
The beginning of the end
Last year, Airbus announced it would end production of the A380 in 2021 and focus instead on creating jets that are more economical.
But the storied jumbo is not consigned to history just yet. As soon as travel restrictions are lifted and airlines can get their fleets back in the air, the A380 will continue to fly. Emirates previously said it will be in operation until at least 2038.
On the 15th anniversary of the A380’s maiden flight, its parent company is fighting for survival. Reports released earlier today from Reuters state that Guillaume Faury, chief executive of Airbus, has written to employees of the company saying it is "bleeding cash at an unprecedented speed”.
Airbus has lost one third of its business due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
What is safeguarding?
“Safeguarding, not just in sport, but in all walks of life, is making sure that policies are put in place that make sure your child is safe; when they attend a football club, a tennis club, that there are welfare officers at clubs who are qualified to a standard to make sure your child is safe in that environment,” Derek Bell explains.
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
More on Quran memorisation:
Overview
What: The Arab Women’s Sports Tournament is a biennial multisport event exclusively for Arab women athletes.
When: From Sunday, February 2, to Wednesday, February 12.
Where: At 13 different centres across Sharjah.
Disciplines: Athletics, archery, basketball, fencing, Karate, table tennis, shooting (rifle and pistol), show jumping and volleyball.
Participating countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Qatar and UAE.
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The Facility’s Versatility
Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
Never before has a ground in this country – or perhaps anywhere in the world – had such a volume of major-match cricket.
And yet scoring has remained high, and Abu Dhabi has seen some classic encounters in every format of the game.
October 18, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad
The two playoff-chasing sides put on 163 apiece, before Kolkata went on to win the Super Over
January 8, ODI, UAE beat Ireland by six wickets
A century by CP Rizwan underpinned one of UAE’s greatest ever wins, as they chased 270 to win with an over to spare
February 6, T10, Northern Warriors beat Delhi Bulls by eight wickets
The final of the T10 was chiefly memorable for a ferocious over of fast bowling from Fidel Edwards to Nicholas Pooran
March 14, Test, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by six wickets
Eleven wickets for Rashid Khan, 1,305 runs scored in five days, and a last session finish
June 17, PSL, Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs
Usman Khawaja scored a hundred as Islamabad posted the highest score ever by a Pakistan team in T20 cricket
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
More on animal trafficking
GROUP RESULTS
Group A
Results
Ireland beat UAE by 226 runs
West Indies beat Netherlands by 54 runs
Group B
Results
Zimbabwe tied with Scotland
Nepal beat Hong Kong by five wickets
OTHER IPL BOWLING RECORDS
Best bowling figures: 6-14 – Sohail Tanvir (for Rajasthan Royals against Chennai Super Kings in 2008)
Best average: 16.36 – Andrew Tye
Best economy rate: 6.53 – Sunil Narine
Best strike-rate: 12.83 – Andrew Tye
Best strike-rate in an innings: 1.50 – Suresh Raina (for Chennai Super Kings against Rajasthan Royals in 2011)
Most runs conceded in an innings: 70 – Basil Thampi (for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2018)
Most hat-tricks: 3 – Amit Mishra
Most dot-balls: 1,128 – Harbhajan Singh
Most maiden overs bowled: 14 – Praveen Kumar
Most four-wicket hauls: 6 – Sunil Narine
Du Plessis plans his retirement
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis said on Friday the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia in two years' time will be his last.
Du Plessis, 34, who has led his country in two World T20 campaigns, in 2014 and 2016, is keen to play a third but will then step aside.
"The T20 World Cup in 2020 is something I'm really looking forward to. I think right now that will probably be the last tournament for me," he said in Brisbane ahead of a one-off T20 against Australia on Saturday.
Honeymoonish
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What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
I Care A Lot
Directed by: J Blakeson
Starring: Rosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage
3/5 stars
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
PSG's line up
GK: Alphonse Areola (youth academy)
Defence - RB: Dani Alves (free transfer); CB: Marquinhos (€31.4 million); CB: Thiago Silva (€42m); LB: Layvin Kurzawa (€23m)
Midfield - Angel di Maria (€47m); Adrien Rabiot (youth academy); Marco Verratti (€12m)
Forwards - Neymar (€222m); Edinson Cavani (€63m); Kylian Mbappe (initial: loan; to buy: €180m)
Total cost: €440.4m (€620.4m if Mbappe makes permanent move)
Company profile
Name: GiftBag.ae
Based: Dubai
Founded: 2011
Number of employees: 4
Sector: E-commerce
Funding: Self-funded to date
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What is a Ponzi scheme?
A fraudulent investment operation where the scammer provides fake reports and generates returns for old investors through money paid by new investors, rather than through ligitimate business activities.
