It is the last factory-new aircraft of its kind: The Airbus A380 with serial number MSN 272 left the hangar in Toulouse in an assembled state on Tuesday (23 September). Its tail already bears the colours of the future operator Emirates. It is the last ever superjumbo that Airbus will build, as the manufacturer has confirmed.
The aircraft left A380 production assembly station 40, which is now empty. It was there that the individual fuselage sections, wings, landing gear, tail unit and other parts had previously been assembled into a complete aircraft. What is still missing are, among other things, the engines.
Photos of employees
When the last A380 was towed to the next assembly station, it could be seen that Airbus had given it a special decoration: The manufacturer put portrait photos of employees over the windows of the aircraft.
Airbus had decided to end A380 production back in February 2019. The last superjumbo will be delivered in 2021, said former Airbus CEO Tom Enders, after Emirates had cancelled 39 of the aircraft type. There was no longer a «significant order backlog», Enders explained.
Nine orders still open
At the end of August 2020, Airbus still had unfilled orders for new A380s on its books: Eight for Emirates and one for All Nippon Airways (ANA). In May, there had been speculation that Emirates would no longer take delivery of five of the eight superjumbos. If the airlines do take up all nine remaining A380, then Airbus will have delivered a total of 251 A380 to customers over the type's history.
Here comes the final Airbus A380
The final new Airbus A380: If you zoom in on the picture of the jet with serial number MSN 272 ...
The final new Airbus A380: If you zoom in on the picture of the jet with serial number MSN 272 ...
Aviation Toulouse/@Frenchpainter
... you can see that portrait pictures of employees are fitted over the windows.
... you can see that portrait pictures of employees are fitted over the windows.
Aviation Toulouse/@Frenchpainter
Production station 40 is now empty after the final A380 was assembled here.
Production station 40 is now empty after the final A380 was assembled here.
Aviation Toulouse/@Frenchpainter
