Global Airlines Aims For Year-End Start Of MRO Work On Its A380

UK startup Global Airlines plans to move its Airbus A380 into an MRO facility for its 12-year check “by the end of this year” as the company inches toward the start of commercial operations.

Global has attracted much attention in recent years with its plans to operate the A380 and restore what founder James Asquith has called “a golden age of aviation.”  

The airline originally planned to launch in 2024, but the launch date of commercial flights has been steadily pushed back. Global has said in the past that it plans to operate a fleet of four A380s.

The company undertook two transatlantic proving flights from Glasgow and Manchester to New York JFK in May 2025, but has largely kept a low profile since then, with the aircraft parked at Tarbes, southwest France.

New interest was sparked earlier this week when UK newspaper The Herald reported that Global planned to start services to the Maldive Islands before the end of this year. In fact, the Indian Ocean island group is only one of many potential destinations that the airline has considered, and the airline has not agreed to anything definite.

Cities in the U.S. and Far East are among those that have been bidding for the A380 to start services to them, a Global spokesman told Aviation Daily June 4, and “some fantastic incentives are being offered to us,” but nothing has been confirmed.

First, Global has to get its sole aircraft through a 12-year check. “We very much expect to have positioned the aircraft ... before the end of the year, probably sometime in [the fourth quarter], to get it to the MRO facility,” the spokesperson said. He declined to name the MRO facility in question.

“There’s an awful lot of work that has to be done before you just rock up to a hangar,” he added and admitted that the airline had wanted to have already moved the aircraft for the C-Check.

However, the continuing dearth of capacity in the MRO sector has led to delays.

“We have a 12-year slot lined up. As you know, MRO availability and capacity is extremely stretched at the moment. It’s a little bit frustrating that we are behind the timescale that we wanted because of reasons very much outside our control,” the spokesperson said.

He added that Global had been working with other operators of the A380. “In this industry, people tend to support each other,” he said.

Global’s aircraft essentially retains the interior configuration installed by its original owner, China Southern, and there has been much speculation as to whether the UK-based startup will revamp the cabin. “There will be some further work done on the interior, but I can’t say much more,” the spokesperson said.

The airline’s initial flights were operated under the air operator’s certificate (AOC) of Portugal-based, wet-lease and charter specialist Hi Fly under a partnership arrangement. Asked about progress on Global obtaining its own AOC, the spokesperson said that much work was going on behind the scenes on the matter. “We have lots of different options” in obtaining the necessary certification, he said.

“Hi Fly has been a fantastic partner for what we’ve done so far,” he said. “We fully expect that to continue, in one way or another, but there are other things that we’re progressing or pursuing to keep all options open.”