British flag carrier British Airways has resumed flights to Johannesburg with the Airbus A380. The airline resumed long-haul flights with its largest aircraft just over a month ago. While the Omicron variant had looked set to derail the airline's plan to send the giant of the skies to South Africa's largest city, all eventually went to plan.
British Airways caught many by surprise when it revealed the Airbus A380 would be returning to the skies with passengers at the tail-end of 2021. While the A380 has diminished in popularity with some airlines, its niche superpower makes it an asset to the British Airways fleet. The airline will continue to operate the aircraft as traffic continues to recover in the coming years.
Back in Johannesburg
Before the COVID-19 pandemic began, the Airbus A380 was a regular sight in Johannesburg, sporting the colors of Air France, British Airways, Emirates, and Lufthansa. While the aircraft won't be seen at the airport again sporting the Air France livery and is unlikely to return in the Lufthansa livery, it is already back in the British Airways livery.
This morning, the giant of the skies returned to Johannesburg wearing the red, white, and blue of British Airways' Chatham Dockyard livery. According to data from RadarBox.com, G-XLEL took to the skies from London's Heathrow Airport (LHR) at 21:12 local time yesterday. The aircraft covered around 4,900 nautical miles (9,075 kilometers) in roughly 11 hours. This meant that the plane landed in South Africa's largest city at 10:16 this morning, just one minute after its planned arrival time.
Almost derailed by Omicron
The British Airways Airbus A380's return to Johannesburg was almost derailed by the discovery of the Omicron COVID-19 variant in the city in late 2021. The discovery led a panicked UK Government to re-add South Africa to the red list.
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When South Africa ended up on the red list for the first time due to the Beta variant, it took almost a year to be taken off. Many feared a similar situation this time around, and as a result, British Airways pushed the A380 route resumption to February.
Thankfully, it quickly became apparent that the Omicron variant, while more transmissible than its predecessors, was less deadly than them. The UK Government quickly scrapped the red list for a second time. Given this positive development, British Airways brought the Johannesburg A380 resumption back to January, though slightly later than before. The UK Government is now thought to be scrapping almost all restrictions for fully vaccinated travelers.
The airline appears to be reasonably committed to its Airbus A380 fleet. Last summer, British Airways renewed its heavy maintenance agreement with Lufthansa Technik, covering all 12 of its A380s. This agreement is now set to run until at least 2027.
Are you excited to see the giant of the skies returning to South Africa? Let us know what you think and why in the comments!