Belgians the first to pilot Airbus

16 March 2007

BRUSSELS – Four former Sabena pilots are the first pilots to be issued a license to fly an Airbus A380, the largest passenger aircraft in the world. Eric Aerden, spokesperson for the department for mobility and transport has announced this.

The four pilots, Xavier Lesceu, Jean-Marc Elias, Patrick Lelotte and Jacques Drappier, have been working for the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus for several years already and helped develop the training programmes for flying the A380. On 14 March they were the first pilots in the world to be issued licenses to fly the super jumbo jet.

“The four pilots will also start training pilots from Singapore Airlines this summer, the first airline that will be operating an Airbus A380,” Aerden said. The first A380 to be ready for operation will be delivered to Singapore Airlines in autumn.

Subject: Belgian news