First Qantas A380 flight takes off since engine explosion incident

SYDNEY - The first Qantas A380 passenger flight has taken off from Sydney Airport after it suffered a setback following a midair engine explosion earlier this month on one of the aircraft in its fleet triggered a global safety review.

Qantas’s six A380s have been grounded for more than three weeks following the incident.

News.com.au quoted Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce, who was on board today’s flight to London via Singapore, as saying that all safety checks had been completed.

“It’s great that we can reintroduce the aircraft. We are 100 per cent comfortable with the operation of the aircraft,” Joyce said at Sydney Airport before boarding the plane.

Meanwhile some passengers of the flight also expressed confidence in the company saying that Qantas must have “double-checked” before deciding to start its service again.

“They’ve got a good safety record anyway, but I think particularly with the first flight since the incident, I’m sure that all the safety protocols would have been double-checked,” a passenger said.

Earlier this month, the engine of the A380 had dramatically exploded mid-air over the Indonesian island of Batam, near Singapore, and had to return to Singapore’s Changi Airport. Qantas Airways had grounded its entire Airbus A380 fleet following its emergency landing. (ANI)