34 workers spent 6,000 hours repainting Emirates Airbus A380
- Thirty-four people put in 6,000 hours of work to repaint an Emirates Airbus A380
- The maintenance job saw the plane getting its paintwork stripped back and redone
- You can see a time-lapse video of the work being carried out below
Published on Aug 13, 2024 at 4:58 AM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid
Last updated on Aug 13, 2024 at 4:44 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
This incredible time-lapse video shows 34 people putting in 6,000 hours of work across 15 days to repaint an Emirates Airbus A380.
The Emirates Aircraft Appearance Centre is a state-of-the-art painting facility in Dubai, where its planes can be given a fresh lick of paint to keep them looking slick.
In addition to ensuring its planes are in top technical condition, Emirates prides itself on meeting the same high standards in every detail of its fleet’s appearance.
DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie
Emirates carried out a mammoth round of plane maintenance
Airplane maintenance is an important – and costly – business.
One young pilot revealed the jaw-dropping amount he spends to keep his 1968 Cessna 150 in good condition; while on a much larger scale, the cost of taking care of Concorde was said to run into millions.
On a similarly large scale is the ongoing upkeep of the Emirates fleet, with the airline completing 33 aircraft makeovers in 12 months back in 2016.
That’s the equivalent of 13 percent of its fleet undergoing the full makeovers, which included being completely stripped and repainted.
In total, three Airbus A380s and 22 Boeing 777s were given a fresh coat of paint, as well as eight aircraft that were due to be retired.
The airline shared a time-lapse clip showing the amazing amount of manpower required to repaint an A380, the world’s largest commercial aircraft.
It’s a lengthy process from start to finish
“The process for repainting an A380 involves four different stages starting from: preparing and masking the aircraft to protect sensitive components from paint application; chemical stripping of existing paint; sanding of external surfaces followed by the actual phase of repainting which comprises of pre-treatment, painting of the aircraft with various coats, marking of signs and finally, the application of a clear coat for gloss retention,” Emirates explained.
Once the painting is all done, the plane has an ‘exhaustive inspection’ and is quality-checked before it can go back into service.
A team of 34 professionals clocked up almost 6,000 man-hours to complete the repainting of the plane – known as Echo Delta Delta.
The mammoth ‘strip and repaint’ makeover was completed in 15 days, which set a new company record.
In total, seven coats of paint – weighing 1,100 kilograms – were applied on Echo Delta Delta, with the painting process taking seven days.
It’s also incredibly satisfying to watch, so sit back and enjoy.
Claire Reid is a journalist who hails from the UK but is now living in New Zealand. She began her career after graduating with a degree in Journalism from Liverpool John Moore’s University and has more than a decade of experience, writing for both local newspapers and national news sites. Across her career she's covered a wide variety of topics, including celebrity, cryptocurrency, politics, true crime and just about everything in between.
