First Airbus A380 superjumbo ready for delivery to Singapore Airlines

Airbus will finally deliver its first A380 passenger superjumbo to Singapore Airlines on Monday 15 October, around 18 months behind schedule. Earlier, on Saturday 13 October Singapore Airlines added the new A380 to the Singapore aircraft register.

The certificates of registration and airworthiness were presented by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) in Toulouse, as part of the delivery ceremony to Singapore Airlines.

The A380 has made over 45 visits to airports around the world on route-proving flights, in order to be granted entry into commercial airline service. The exercise tested the aircraft's systems and assessed its operations at airports. This test is one of the most rigorous to date, to satisfy world aviation regulators that the A380 is ready for passenger operations.

The aircraft will be flown to Singapore's Changi airport on Wednesday. Its heavily hyped and sold-out charity inaugural first commercial flight is set for 25 October, to Sydney, Australia and back to Singapore. Singapore Airlines will begin scheduled services with the A380 between Singapore and Sydney on 28 October. Singapore Airlines has firm orders for 19 A380s, with a further six options.