One of Europe's major airports has installed these bizarre custom-made hangar doors to accommodate the world's largest passenger plane. Photo / Munich Airport
One of Europe's major airports has installed these bizarre custom-made hangar doors to accommodate the world's largest passenger plane. Photo / Munich Airport
One of Europe's major airports has installed these bizarre custom-made hangar doors to accommodate the world's largest passenger plane.
The doors at Munich Airport have been made with a large hole in the middle - so they can close around the Airbus A380 leaving the tail fin sticking outside ofthe hangar.
Before the new rail-mounted gates were installed, the giant planes could only be maintained with the hangar doors left open, leaving mechanics and maintenance workers shivering on cold days.
There are five Airbus A380s which are part of the Lufthansa fleet and they have been based at the airport since March. They were previously housed at Frankfurt.
The doors which were built to accommodate the planes, measure 22 metres high and 11 metres wide.
The doors have been made with a large hole in the middle - so they can close around the Airbus A380 leaving the tail fin sticking outside of the hangar. Photo / Munich Airport
It took four weeks to build the 20 ton doors.
The large hole means the tail fin is left sticking a full 2 metres outside the hangar during maintenance work.
An airport spokesperson said the hole fits snugly around the plane and prevents chilly draughts.
An airport spokesperson said the hole fits snugly around the plane and prevents chilly draughts. Photo / Munich Airport
They added that leaving the tail fin outside would not pose any problems even in the coldest conditions, as the planes are used to flying at temperatures dipping to minus 60 degrees Celsius.
A video showing the new gates in action has been posted on the airport website, with the comment: "This is our definition of a perfect butt."
A clip from a video showing how the new gates work, reveal the dimensions and weight. Photo / Munich Airport
To date the clip has been watched more than 18,000 times, with lots of viewers responding with the "laughing" emoji.
Munich Airport, in the south-eastern German state of Bavaria, is the second-busiest airport in Germany and the seventh-busiest in Europe.
The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine jet airliner which can carry 525 people in a typical three-class configuration.
