The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) gave their seal of approval to the Airbus A380 airplane and deemed it safe to fly commercial services in a special ceremony at the Toulouse headquarters.
"It’s a great day for aviation ... The size of this aircraft is indicative of just how big dreams can be,” FAA Administrator Marion Blakey said, before handing over “type certificates” for the plane to Airbus.
This celebrates six years of development for the airliner that was bogged down by delays in deliveries to customers. Critics have called the huge plane the wrong jet for today's market. Boeing opted to build a mid-sized twinjet for long-haul travel.
