A Qantas Airways Airbus A380-800 took off from Dresden, Germany, on its way back to Sydney, Australia. The plane, registered VH-OQB, took off at 9:20 a.m. UTC from Dresden, where it had been in storage for nearly 20 months following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. And Qantas had hinted at the return of the giant plane to service with the beginning of the opening of the Australian borders to air traffic and travel in Australia.
The plane, which bears the name of the founder of Qantas Corporation "Hudson Fysh", is expected to arrive in Sydney at 14:47 local time (+11 UTC), where it will spend several weeks to undergo the necessary checks, modernization work and training of flight and hospitality crews.
The aircraft will also undergo an upgrade of the passenger cabin in various levels before returning to service in mid-December. The A380 is expected to return to regular service by April 2022 on flights from Sydney to London and from Sydney to Los Angeles.