The biggest civil aircraft ever built landed for the first time at Paris-Vatry Airport on Tuesday, 26 June 2007. Its brief appearance followed discussions between the S.E.V.E., which manages Paris-Vatry airport and Airbus aimed at welcoming the aircraft on a regular basis in the future within the framework of training exercises.

Arriving at around 10h 30 from Paris Le Bourget airport en route to Lyon Saint-Exupéry, the aircraft carried out a vertical manoeuvre over the airport buildings before reaching the threshold of runway 28 where it made an extremely quiet landing. From the runway, the aircraft moved along the taxiway to its point of arrival, picked up the throttle and set off for the Lyon region.

Equipped with a runway measuring 3,860 metres long and 60 metres wide, Paris-Vatry Airport ranks among the major European airports already capable of accommodating the A380. Thanks to its remarkable, strategic location, first-class airport infrastructure and know-how in handling training flights, Paris-Vatry Airport is likely to be chosen once again in the near future to host Airbus test flights and also the training exercises of airlines who will soon be acquiring the aircraft. In the longer term, the cargo version of the A380 may well be seen on the runway at Paris-Vatry Airport too.