The world’s largest passenger airliner landed for the first time at Denver International Airport last night.
But don’t expect to the see an Airbus A380 — nicknamed “the whale” — back in the Mile High City anytime soon.
Air France flight 65, heading from Los Angeles to Paris, diverted to Denver after someone aboard the double-decker jet had a medical problem.
“This was the first time an A380 has landed at (Denver International Airport),” said Emily Williams, an airport spokeswoman.
The airport has one of the longest runways in the U.S., meaning it can accommodate an A380 without issue. It also can handle one of the planes at a gate, but last night the plane was parked away from the terminal.
“Last night they kept passengers onboard while the medical issue was addressed, and then the aircraft departed again to (Paris),” Williams said.
The A380 first took flight in 2005. Since then, more than 200 have been built.
No U.S. passenger carrier uses the plane.
Denver International Airport does have carriers — Lufthansa and British Airways — that have the A380 in their fleet. But as of Monday there were no public plans for any airline to begin using the four-engine gargantuan on their Denver routes.
“As far as we are aware,” Williams said, “none of our carriers intend to begin using A380s on their routes out of DEN.”
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