October the second, 2011. This was an interesting day in the history of Ferihegy Airport. We were privileged to witness the first visit by Airbus’ “jumbo”, the A380.
The expectations? Beyond belief. We were expecting her already during the summer months but she failed to put in an appearance. Probably this only increased the expectations to an even higher level. When about a month ago I heard that she was definitely coming I quickly checked my calendar… I was going to be on day shift! The icing on the cake? I was going to be the tower deputy supervisor (DSV) that day! Knowing this made the preparations all that more special. Whichever way we look at it, this was going to be a special day. Not only because of the actual coming of this giant but also because I could be part of the huge interplay necessary for the reception of such an aircraft. It occurred to me in passing that it was such a pity that real cooperation at the airport only ever happened these days on such special occasions while the rest of the time people are busy tearing each other up… but I am diverging.
The morning of this special day we looked at each other in the parking lot with wondering eyes. Everyone was dressed in their Sunday best. This was done in part on the request of management but I guess we would have worn a shirt anyway in recognition of the day’s significance. It was amusing to ponder that our management had asked for proper dress in order to maintain our company’s “image”… Does it have an image? This fact has somehow failed to reach us, at least in the form of a blue shirt with the result that we were now sporting shirts in every conceivable shade of blue. But never mind… head for the tower.
We had received all relevant documents and instructions the week before and we were preparing for the big day accordingly. We checked everything from the official approvals to the applicable procedures and armed with knowledge my little lady boss and yours truly went to Terminal 2 for a final briefing. I was surprised (yes surprised however unusual this may sound these days…) to see how many people attended the briefing. A lot of strangers were sitting around the big table, I saw almost no familiar faces. But we knew the main coordinator (he also knew us). He started by explaining the 380’s reception plan. It was strange seeing him start the coordination with us and I could see on the faces of the others that for them, we were the “unknown aliens”… Anyway, in the end everyone had a final rundown of their tasks and we were ready to return to the tower.
But ready is not good enough anymore apparently. The big question was: HOW? In the happier times past we took the car to one of the internal parking lots of Terminal 2 then walked through the nearest gate to the public are of the Terminal… Once finished with the official business, we returned to the car via the same gate and that was it. And now? You can go out via any gate you chose but returning is possible via only one… but where is that one gate, that was the question. We have never before used it and to complicate things, our “favorite” SkyCourt was also built here since we last had occasion to visit the Terminal. We found the gate with some difficulty, suffered through the “favorite” security check and then tried to figure out how we could get down to the ramp. I will not bore you with all the details but in a short while we (my lady boss and myself) started to worry that we might not make it back to the tower before the 380 arrived. In the end it took a 30 minute ordeal before I was able to finally relax in my chair wowing not to visit Terminal 2 again for at least another five years.
From here time seemed to have stopped. When is she coming? Originally we were expecting her at 12.30 but rumors of a delay were starting to spread. Being DSV, I was also the switchboard “lady” and you cannot imagine the number of queries we had to answer. After a time we agreed with my supervisor colleague that instead of waiting patiently until the caller stammered through his or her question, imitating an answering machine I would simply announce after picking up the phone: At forty five, three one right. Some of the callers were truly surprised by this new show of high technology but the less fortunate (read off-duty) colleagues understood the message and were highly amused by the initiative. After all, they would act in the same way in our place, so they just said their names and put down the phone.
We did not have any problem with the approach direction of the 380. 31R was perfect from every aspect. But the take-off?? This was a harder nut to crack for our managers. According to the official position dated a week earlier, take-off should take place from 13L. But during the week the opinions changed and with them the take-off direction. Since there would only be a very few passengers on board, the airport gave preference to the shortest possible taxi distance and this meant runway 31L. So what now? We too had a major problem with this since our preference was also runway 31L but what should we do with the original, official decision? Our lady boss was hanging on the phone a long time until a wise decision was arrived at: 31L and that was that. Indeed, problem solved. Now all we needed was an Airbus 380 coming our way.
Of course all this time the normal traffic was also running but that was no big deal for my colleagues to handle.
Finally she entered our airspace and we followed her on radar from the FIR boundary all the way to landing. How many people were doing the same? Well, some major sporting events recently had fewer enthusiast cheering… The area under the final track to runway 31R was crowded with cars (dear comrades at security, was this not a risk? Only I am a risk, who lives for aviation? What makes you tick????). The areas near the perimeter fence and even the roads leading to the airport were full with curious people. It was rumored that there were traffic jams all around the airport.
There she was, descending majestically and then touching down with a huge cloud of burned rubber rising from her wheels. She slowed swiftly and following the directions from the tower she left the runway via Taxiway K. There she was met by the fire brigade who gave her the “welcome drink”, the customary arc of water from left and right. She then proceeded to Taxiway A4, where she was parked and the festivities began. There was a beer-tent and the representatives of the media plus most of our management milled around there, keen to appear important.
We had almost two hours during which we could attend to our more customary business. Of course there was also new excitement caused by a telephone call to our little lady boss. Originally the 380’s departure was planned as a simple affair, we had no information about the plane wanting to perform any special maneuver. We were preparing for this when the news came that the aircraft will fly a circuit after take-off, then make a low pass over the runway before being on its way to wherever it was going after Ferihegy. Shoot!!! We were both happy and pissed by this news. Why did we not know anything about this? We are supposed to report everything in advance so why does this requirement not work in reverse also? Then slowly the truth became evident: this additional show was invented on the spot, the pilot agreed, so why not? I tell you why. Consistency. Or rather the lack of it. That those who insist on us following the rules will now order a deviation from the rules… bad scene, very bad.
But what could we do? Once again we have thrown the plans topsy-turvy and so we started coordinating with Approach control. Luckily they were not in an arguing mood and so could join in enjoying the show from the roof of the center building.
So, after about two hours the 380 started her engines, taxied out and took off from Runway 31L. Following the right hand traffic circuit, she approached again this time on the final track to Runway 31L where the crowd with cameras were waiting.
We looked on with eyes popping… she was descending and descending… and descending, we thought the pilot would put her down, but no, she leveled out at about 10 meters above the runway and made the lowest of low passes flying over the runway. I wanted to rub my eyes in disbelief but I did not, not wanting to miss a single second of this spectacle. A giant like this making such a low pass, it was unbelievable.
We watched with open mouth as she started to climb and take her leave of the crowds by rocking her wings, as if this was the most natural thing in the world. It was a majestic, unforgettable sight. Although personally I am not that keen on such giant aircraft, with this maneuver she managed to touch even me. I am glad to have been part of the show.
With the magic over, things returned to normal. We did get a pat on the shoulder from our management. Perhaps it was naïve from me but I expected a call from our Director General and not only our immediate superior. Perhaps this was the reason why we appreciated more the note of thanks from the airport operator which came together with a bit of gourmet delights! Taking our revenge we went against the regulations and ate our present right there in the tower cab!
Plaeisng you should think of something like that