Hi Fly stops operating the largest passenger plane in the world

Hi Fly airline will stop operating the Airbus A380, the world’s largest passenger aircraft, by the end of the year. The reasons are related to the low demand due to the covid-19 pandemic.

The decision not to extend the initial charter period, “after nearly three years of successful operations around the world”, is due, explained Hi Fly on Facebook, “to the decrease in demand for very large aircraft”.

According to Paulo Mirpuri’s company, the Airbus A380 will be replaced by “a smaller aircraft more suited to current market conditions”, the Airbus A330.

One year after operating in Portugal, Hi Fly’s A380, 9H-MIP “Save the Coral Reefs” – which has a capacity of 471 passengers divided into three classes or 800 in economy class – has undergone an adaptation taking into account the reality of the post-pandemic, having transformed itself into an aircraft with greater freight potential.

Including Hi Fly, only 15 airlines worldwide operate the A380. In Portugal, given its large size, the “Rei dos Céus” lands only on the runways of Air Base 11, in Beja, then parking on the sign for the Civil Aeronautical Terminal (TCABeja).

Tribute A380

On the Facebook page, Hi Fly challenged internet users to share a A380 tribute message. “With stories, photos, collages, artwork, ink-stained hands … the sky is literally the limit,” wrote the Portuguese airline, ensuring that “all messages will be displayed on the A380 mural”, which will be public until the last day of the aircraft’s presence at Hi Fly service.

First landing

Hi Fly’s Airbus A380 landed for the first time on Portuguese soil at 16.57 on 23 July 2018, without problems and after a “presentation tour” over the city of Beja.

Despite only the crew transport, thousands of people gathered around the BA11 runway and the Terminal sign to see the largest passenger plane in the world, a moment considered historic for the life of TCABeja and for the region.

The plane was painted with drawings of a coral reef defense campaign, whose name it adopted “Save the Coral Reefs”.