Gallery: Lufthansa Airbus A380 comeback

Lufthansa Airbus A380 D-AIMK arrives from Frankfurt, after completing 10 touch-and-go maneuvers at Leipzig Airport before landing as flight LH9917 in Munich on April 12.
 

A Lufthansa Airbus A319, operated by Lufthansa CityLine, crosses the taxiway as the A380 leaves the runway.
 

Up to four follow-me cars escorted the A380 to the Lufthansa Technik hangar around the airport. A second A380 in Munich is expected soon, followed by a third and fourth aircraft. By October, four A380s will be back in service.
 

From June 1, Lufthansa will resume A380 operations with a daily service from Munich to Boston Logan International, following daily services from Munich to New York JFK from July 4.
 

Special traffic signs for ground vehicles at the airport show that two taxiways are ahead. In the background, Terminal 2, the Lufthansa terminal at Munich.
 

The A380 arrives at the Lufthansa Technic hangar facility. Taking the aircraft out of deep storage will take up to nine months. Several of Lufthansa’s A380s will have to undergo C checks before resuming scheduled flights. 
 

Many Lufthansa employees, including a local folk band, wait for the arrival of the A380. Many employees said they did not believe the A380 would ever return to operations at Lufthansa. But, due to the significant increase in demand for airline tickets and the delayed delivery of ordered aircraft, Lufthansa decided in 2022 to reactivate the Airbus A380.
 

Pictured, Martin Hoell, A340/A350/A380 captain and head of Airbus Intercontinental Fleet in Munich. In his career, Hoell said he has 500 flying hours on the A380, but 18,000 flying hours in general on different types of aircraft.
 

Lufthansa Airlines CEO Jens Ritter also welcomed the A380's return to service. “Next year, we want to add two additional A380s; we are going to six aircraft,” he said.
 

The four pilots who flew the A380 to Munich, with Lufthansa Airlines CEO Jens Ritter (3rd from right) and Munich Airport CCO Jan-Henrik Andersson (2nd from left).

“We have a core team of 12 A380 captains. When we begin our scheduled flights June 1, we will have a total of 35 captains and 80 first officers,“ Captain Martin Hoell said. To have an efficient number of pilots, all A380 pilots also fly A350s. Both aircraft types are based in Munich. Placing the A380s in Munich allows Lufthansa to cross-qualify its A350 pilots.
 

The A380 Premium Economy Class, which offers 52 seats. There are 371 seats in Economy Class. The A380 has around 80% more capacity than the A340-600 currently flying the Munich-JFK route. Before the A380 enters scheduled services again, it will operate several domestic flights within Germany for pilot training, without passengers.
 

Lufthansa operates the A380 with a 509-seat configuration, comprising eight seats in First Class. The First-Class cabin is located in the upper deck of the A380.
 

The Business Class section offers 78 seats on the upper deck. The returned A380 fleet will remain operational for several more years, at least until 2026, when the first Boeing 777-9s should arrive. 
 

Two Lufthansa aircraft in the Lufthansa Technik Munich maintenance hangar.