A380 cleared for ops into India

The Indian government has cleared the A380 for ops into that country. (Rob Finlayson)

The Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation has cleared the Airbus A380 for operations in India.

The approval comes after years of delay in putting the appropriate infrastructure in place at Indian airports to support the massive airliner, as well as a reported protectionist attitude by the Indian government in favour of local airlines that have not ordered the A380.

In response to the approval, an Airbus statement read; “A booming economy, a growing middle class, migration, urbanisation and tourism are all factors pushing India to become one of the world’s fastest growing aviation markets. Larger aircraft like the A380 combined with higher load factors make the most efficient use of limited airport slots and contribute to rising passenger numbers without additional flights to capture this growth.”

The only Indian airline to have ordered the A380 is Kingfisher, although with the viability of that company in doubt, Airbus recently removed that order from its backlog.

Airlines such as Singapore Airlines and Emirates have been reported as showing interest in commencing A380 services to India.