Airbus abandons iconic A380 superjumbo

European plane manufacturer Airbus is to end production of its A380 superjumbo. The firm will stop deliveries of the world’s biggest passenger jet in 2021 due to lack of customers
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AIRBUS A380: Aircraft cost about $25 billion to develop and has been in service for just 12 years

Cruising speed Mach 0.85 (1,050km/h)
Range (max. passengers) 15,000km 
Max. take-off weight  575 tonnes
Max. fuel capacity  320,000 litres

Length  72.7m
Wingspan 79.8m

Largest A380 customer Emirates has cut back its total order by 39 planes – from 162 to 123 aircraft

First flight Apr 2005
Entered service Oct 2007

Double decker fuselage Typical passenger seating: 575 Maximum seating: 853

Powerplant: Four Rolls-Royce Trent 900 or Engine Alliance GP7200 turbofans

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A380 ASSEMBLY End of production could impact 3,500 jobs

Broughton, UK Wings

Saint-Nazaire, France Forward and centre fuselage sections

Cádiz, Spain Horizontal tailplane

Hamburg, Germany Rear fuselage and vertical tail fin

Toulouse, France Final assembly line

AIRBUS EMPLOYEES 
France: 48,000 
Germany: 46,000 
Spain: 12,700
UK: 14,000

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© GRAPHIC NEWS
Sources: Airbus, Associated Press, CNN