In the 15 minutes, Dublin Airport has welcomed the largest aircraft to ever land there, being the Air China Boeing 747-8.
The aircraft is carrying Chinese Premier Li Qiang and is part of a two day visit to Ireland, where he will meet with the President & Taoiseach of the country.
Without further ado, let’s get into it…
Dublin Airport Welcomes Largest: The Air China Boeing 747-8…
In a statement, Dublin Airport explains how this is the largest aircraft they have ever received:
“The Boeing 747-8 aircraft has a wingspan of 68 metres and is 76 metres long, which is bigger than the current largest commercial aircraft to land at Dublin Airport – the B747-400 which has a wingspan measuring 64 metres and is 71 long.”
“The largest aircraft of any kind to land at Dublin Airport is the military Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, with a wingspan of 67 metres and a length of 75 metres, which last visited Dublin in 2019.”
Adding to this was Graeme McQueen, Media Relations Manager at daa, the operator of Dublin Airport:
“This will be the biggest commercial aircraft to ever land at Dublin Airport and will join the long list of landmark moments in the long history of the airport, which this week celebrates its 84th birthday.”
“The runways at Dublin Airport have just about seen it all over the past eight decades, from numerous US Presidents, through to The Beatles and several Popes, but this is a first and the arrival of a 747-8 aircraft will mark yet another significant milestone for the airport.”
“The team at Dublin Airport is looking forward to welcoming Premier Li, his delegation and all of the passengers on board the 747-8 on Tuesday evening.”
The Aircraft Itself…
Air China flight CA1 is being operated by B-2480, a 8.7 year old Boeing 747-8 that was delivered to the carrier back in June 2015, as per data from Planespotters.net.
Of the 747-8 variant, the Chinese carrier has seven of them in the fleet, of which six are in active service and one is parked, offering an average fleet age of 9.1 years.
CA1 departed Zurich, where the Chinese Premier has been for the World Economic Forum, and proceeded on a north-westerly direction to Dublin Airport, where it landed at 2016 local time.
Many presidential aircraft from world leaders are currently in Zurich for this conference, where certain themes around the global economy are discussed.
It is understood that the aircraft is due to depart from Dublin Airport again tomorrow at 7pm local time, as per the release from the DAA.
For enthusiasts, this movement has been very unique, and will no doubt be held in the memory books in the years ahead following this historic visit.
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