Etihad Airways Restores Second Airbus A380, Resumes Flights to London LHR

Etihad Airways has successfully reintroduced a second Airbus A380 into its operational lineup, now operating flights to a bustling London airport. The dual-decked aircraft with registration A6-API embarked on its inaugural journey to London-Heathrow Airport (LHR) on July 27, 2023, departing at 2:27 am local time (UTC +4) and arriving on Etihad Airways flight EY11 at 6:34 am local time (UTC +1) the same day. This marks the airline’s second A380 to return to service following its grounding in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The return leg of the journey, flight EY12, took the plane back to Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH), lifting off from LHR at 10:27 am local time (UTC +1) and landing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) capital at 7:41 pm local time (UTC +4).

On August 1, 2023, Etihad Airways has included A6-API in its flight schedule for the EY19 and EY20 routes. This adjustment resulted in the Airbus A380’s departure from AUH being delayed compared to the EY11 flight, and it is set to return to the airline’s UAE hub in the early hours of August 2, 2023.

In the meantime, another of Etihad’s active Airbus A380s, registered as A6-APG, has been operating flight EY11 between AUH and LHR, alongside its return leg, EY12, since the official A380 service resumed on July 25, 2023. The only exception was on July 27, 2023, when A6-APG returned to AUH on flight EY18.

Etihad Airways A380 Encounters Technical Issue

The reentry of this aircraft type was marred by a technical problem that temporarily took A6-APG out of active service. After its return to AUH on July 27, 2023, the A380 underwent eight brief test flights on the subsequent day, each lasting no more than 30 minutes, as per data from flightradar24.com.

The reason for the aircraft’s temporary withdrawal from service and the need for multiple test flights before its resumption on the AUH-LHR route on July 29, 2023, remained unclear. Notably, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), acting as the state design authority, had recently released two Airworthiness Directives (AD) addressing potential issues arising from extended storage.

One AD issued in May 2023 highlighted the risk of certain wing spar areas of the A380 developing quicker-than-expected cracks when stored in severe environmental conditions. Consequently, EASA updated inspection guidelines to include Factored Time on Ground (FTOG).

A subsequent AD issued a month later by EASA revealed that a stored A380 aircraft had experienced ruptures in the left-hand body landing gear (BLG) rear axle during a routine walk-around inspection. Airlines were advised to replace affected BLG rear axles with serviceable parts before reintroducing A380s to service.

Meanwhile, Etihad Airways’ other two A380s, registered as A6-APJ and A6-APH, have remained inactive since July 11 and June 21, 2023, respectively.”