Summary
- A Lufthansa Airbus A380 turned back to Munich Airport (MUC) due to a technical issue, reportedly concering the aircraft’s hydraulic system on July 25.
- However, seemingly, it was a minor issue, as the same aircraft has departed on the same flight to New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) on July 26.
- The aircraft, registered as D-AIMK, was the first A380 that Lufthansa reactivated after the pandemic.
A Lufthansa Airbus A380 was forced to turn back to its origin airport as the double-decker encountered technical issues on its flight to the United States.
Turning back to Munich
According to data from Flightradar24, the A380, registered as D-AIMK, was operating Lufthansa flight LH410 from Munich Airport (MUC) to New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) on July 25.
However, as the aircraft was about to initiate its transatlantic crossing, the A380 turned back while it was flying over the United Kingdom, just south of Manchester, the UK.
Photo: CATCH01 | Shutterstock
After having departed MUC at 14:36 local time (UTC +2), the aircraft had initiated its turn back at 16:10 local time, landing back at the Bavarian airport at 17:41.
As a result of the diversion, Lufthansa canceled the return flight from JFK to MUC on the same day, which was scheduled to depart the former airport at 17:30 local time (UTC -4).
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The aircraft will undergo hard maintenance in Manila before returning to regular scheduled services.
Minor technical issue
According to The Aviation Herald, the aircraft had to return to MUC due to hydraulic issues. Simple Flying has approached Lufthansa for a comment about the turnback of the A380.
Nevertheless, while the aircraft had to turn back to MUC, the technical issue seemed to be minor. The same A380 has departed on the same flight to JFK at 13:40, with the flight tracking site showing that the aircraft should land at the US airport at 15:44 local time.
Photo: Maverrick | Shutterstock
The aircraft had spent a week at MUC before its flight to JFK on July 25. Flightradar24 data showed that it last operated flight LH453 from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to MUC, with ch-aviation data indicating that the double-decker was undergoing maintenance at the German airport.
The site’s fleet data also showed that Airbus delivered the aircraft to Lufthansa on March 28, 2014, despite the fact that D-AIMK flew for the first time on October 14, 2013.
Nevertheless, as of May 31, the A380 had accumulated 32,678 flight hours (FH) and 3,635 flight cycles (FC), with ch-aviation citing Airbus as the source of the FH and FC data.
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A Lufthansa spokesperson told Simple Flying that there was a medical emergency onboard the Airbus A380.
First restored A380
On December 2, 2022, Lufthansa shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the A380, registered as D-AIMK, would be leaving its long-term storage place at Teruel Airport (TEV), Spain, for its subsequent return to commercial service.
Following its return from TEV to Frankfurt Airport (FRA), it spent the next few weeks at the German airport before it was ferried to Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL), the Philippines, where it underwent maintenance.
It finally returned to service on June 1, operating a flight from MUC to Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), marking the type’s return to commercial service with the airline.
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D-AIMK is currently en route from Munich to Boston.