Singapore Airlines' A380 to start operations in India

Singapore Airlines' first commercial flight on its Airbus A380 aircraft in India will begin late Friday evening with operations starting to Mumbai and New Delhi.

The airline will become the first to operate the world's largest passenger carrier aircraft to India.

The aircraft is expected to land at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) here at around 8.00 p.m. local time and at Mumbai at around 11.00 p.m. Friday night.

The first flight comes after the government in January 2014 allowed Airbus A380 to fly into the country.

The civil aviation ministry had lifted the ban imposed in 2008 on the ground that operation of A380s could work against the interest of Indian passenger carriers.

Other major international passenger carriers such as Emirates and Lufthansa have shown interest in operating A380 aircraft in India on various international routes.

At present only four airports - Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore - have the required infrastructure for handling A380 operations.

The super jumbo can accommodate up to 853 passengers in a single-class configuration and a capacity of 525 passengers in a three-class configuration.