An Airbus A380 with the blue-red-white tail fin of British Airways landed at Frankfurt airport earlier as the carrier prepares to launch the aircraft into its long-haul route network.

It is the first of twelve A380 aircraft to be delivered to the British flag-carrier.

“I am very happy to welcome passengers on the Frankfurt-London route flying on our brand new A380 aircraft.

“The implementation and handling is running according to plan and we thank Frankfurt Airport for this,” said Katja Selle, regional commercial manager, central and east Europe, British Airways.

The airline is flying this short-haul route, Heathrow-Frankfurt, for a limited period of time.

“The fact that British Airways flies the A380 to Frankfurt shows that we have a good reputation as a reliable partner for airlines.

“With timely investments in our infrastructure, we have successfully laid the foundation for the operation of the A380 in Frankfurt and strengthened our position as a major hub airport,” said Peter Schmitz, chief operations officer, Fraport AG.

In 2005 Frankfurt was the first airport worldwide to be A380 compatible.

The first landing of the A380 prototype at a civilian airport was conducted there, while the licensing for ground handling and evacuation of the largest aircraft worldwide also took place at FRA.

British Airways is the fifth airline to operate an A380 into Frankfurt Airport, after Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Korean Air and Thai Airways.

The airline is a long-standing customer of Frankfurt Airport.

It commenced service back in 1938 under the banner of Imperial Airways.