Storing and Restoring a Qantas A380

Qantas has returned ten of its original twelve A380s to service, with all having undergone major refurbishment.

The oldest Airbus A380 operated by Australia’s Qantas Airways returned to service earlier this year after a lengthy period in storage. Although most of the carrier’s super jumbos were stored in Victorville, California, this particular fifteen year old aircraft flew back to Sydney in early April without any passengers after being stored in Abu Dhabi for over a year. Shortly after its return, the wide body aircraft was deployed on one of the airline’s scheduled long-haul flights to Los Angeles. With its high operating costs and changing market conditions, many airlines retired their Airbus A380 aircraft during the COVID-19 pandemic due to reduced demand for flights. However, with global air travel once again on the rise, many airlines brought the A380 super jumbo back in order to accommodate the rising passenger flight demand. For its part, Qantas wanted to increase capacity on several routes using its larger aircraft and decided to bring back those aircraft it had previously sent to storage facilities.  

Desert storage was the only practical solution for the world's surplus aircraft during the global pandemic.

When thousands of long-haul aircraft across the globe were grounded at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, airlines were faced with the question of where to store them. At 240 feet long, nearly 80 feet high and with a takeoff weight of up to 500 tons, the Airbus A380 is the largest and heaviest passenger aircraft in the world. Aircraft this size require lots of space and arid conditions, making the world’s deserts the opportune (and arguably the only) place to keep them. Aircraft boneyards have stored retired and damaged planes since the end of the Second World War and are vital to keeping the industry afloat, but the COVID-19 pandemic was the first time the world’s deserts were tested by so many aircraft simultaneously. 

Every one of the 485 seats on the Qantas A380 required deep cleaning with high-grade disinfectant for storage.

Storing aircraft is not as simple as handing the keys over to a valet and walking away. Even standing still, the A380 consumed a great deal of cash and resources. There are similarities to prepping aircraft for storage whether we’re talking about a Cessna 152 or an Airbus A380. But, the larger the plane, the bigger and more cumbersome the job. Typically, cleaners will scrub the interior, giving it a deep clean. During the COVID 19 pandemic, that clean was even more rigorous than usual. High-grade disinfectants were used and all surfaces were thoroughly wiped down, along with the aircraft exterior. 

Undiscovered birds' nests can result in serious damage, blocking airflow or promoting corrosion in the fuselage.

All the external holes around the aircraft had to be covered, including the pitot and static sensors. Insects like to set up house in those places if left unchecked. The same went for fuel venting holes and the auxiliary power unit. “These holes can get mistaken by birds as a rather nice nesting place. We make sure these are fully covered when we store the aircraft and put them to bed,” said Qantas’ Head of Maintenance John Walker. Anti-fungal agents were placed in the fuel tanks as well. Hydraulic fluid also had to be applied to the landing gear and critical cables to protect them from rust. Moisture is always a problem when parking planes long term. That’s why airlines like storing planes in dry climates. Even so, an A380 typically required over 220 pounds of moisture absorbers to maintain proper humidity levels in the engines and in the cabin. 

Workers look after the engine of an aircraft during its induction process at the APAS facility in Alice Springs.

But preparing the aircraft was only the beginning. Just as you wouldn’t leave your car unattended at an open-air airport parking lot for a couple of years, you wouldn’t leave your A380 uncared for either. “It’s quite a process to put the aircraft into storage. But, once the storage-induction check is complete, we’ll then start carrying out the periodic checks every week,” says Tom Vincent, Managing Director at the Asia Pacific Aircraft Storage facility (APAS) in Alice Springs, Australia, the area’s first. It’s in an arid climate, but while that may reduce moisture threats, places like Alice Springs bring their own unique problems. “The strength of the Australian sun and the effect of UV light on our cabin and cockpit interiors drives us to ensure all of the cockpit and cabin windows are either covered by the installed window shades or by attaching additional material to shield the aircraft from the sun," explained John Walker. These big planes also need to have the wheels rotated every seven to fourteen days to stop flat spots forming They’ll either get a quick tow or be jacked up and have their wheels rotated on the spot. Engines were also started every couple of weeks. 

The complex A380 landing gear system is checked often to ensure its support during takeoff, landing and taxing.

If a plane is stored for more than two years, it usually needs to go back into the air at the two-year mark for a re-certification flight. Airbus also requires full landing gear tests to be performed every six months during long-term storage and before re-entering service. “Long-term storage is a specialized skill. Whether it’s the multiple control surfaces or avionics or hydraulic systems, prolonged storage effectively means an impact to airworthiness”, claims Satyendra Pandey, an independent aviation consultant formerly with Go Airlines. The guiding principle is that the longer time the plane is in storage, the more work needs to be done to see it flying again. 

International travelers were often required to provide proof of a negative COVID test taken prior to departure.

When global lockdowns finally eased, cash-strapped airlines were faced with millions of people who’d been deprived of travel for the better part of two years and weren’t prepared to tolerate further delays. Instead, travelers were met with industry-wide staff shortages, confused border control, COVID testing and vaccination requirements, high airfares and supply chain shortages that initially prevented aircraft from returning to service. But, when it was time to start flying again, how did carriers like Qantas bring the behemoth back into service? It wasn’t an easy task, partly because of the complexity of returning an aircraft of such magnitude to service. 

Snakes and other unsuspecting critters often attempt to stowaway in the wheel wells of massive A380 aircraft.

Many planes were stored at the Victorville Airport in Southern California on the edge of the Mojave Desert. The dry conditions limit the corrosion of metal, meaning aircraft can be stored for years. Reviving an A380 from this environment, however, requires 4,500 hours of manpower, during which its 22 wheels, 16 brakes and internal furnishings are replaced. Tasks including replacing all oxygen cylinders, fire extinguishers and inflatable slides derailed the process for some airlines by months, due to certain global supply shortages of crucial parts. For Qantas engineers in California, reviving an A380 required two months’ work per aircraft in the sweltering Mojave Desert. Some lucky engineers were also tasked with whacking the wheels of each plane to rid them of rattlesnakes or other unsuspecting tenants.

Dust storms are a constant in the Mojave Desert and would pose a significant threat to unprepared aircraft.

The airline’s executive manager of engineering, Scott McConnell, said 100 of his engineers found themselves working through extreme weather, which ranged from snow storms to unforgiving heat. The only constant was the dust that enveloped everything. Before the aircraft could be inspected, it needed to be unwrapped, a process that took considerable time.“ The entire aircraft was wrapped to protect it from moisture, dust and insects. Every opening, panel and crack was taped up, and that was just the outside. There was plastic covering everything inside from the carpets to the seats. And desiccants absorbing water were everywhere to keep the aircraft as free from moisture as possible. 

Former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce didn't mince words about the difficulty of restoring A380s to active flying.

Former Qantas Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce didn’t mince words about the grueling nature of the task when quizzed about why the airline took so long to return to pre-pandemic capacity. “They jack the aircraft up in the middle of the desert where all of its gear is tested, meaning an aircraft’s engines are tested periodically in the desert for months just to make sure they’re still functioning. All that work is just to get out of the desert to Los Angeles or to another, larger maintenance facility,” Joyce said. The planes were later to undergo about 1,000 additional hours of maintenance testing before returning to service.

Either way, going into storage or being restored to service required significant amounts of both time and money. The flying public was blissfully unaware. 

Until next time, safe travels.