Passengers on an Emirates flight from Dubai to Brisbane, Australia were shocked when they saw a large hole in the side while disembarking.
After the flight of approximately 14 hours, passengers onboard the Airbus A380 flying from Dubai to Australia became aware of the extent of the damage when they exited the plane.
The airline shared images of the aircraft on social media, showing the extent of the puncture. According to them, it was caused by a ruptured tire during the flight.
One passenger on board took to Twitter to express concern about the "terrifying" incident that occurred "during cruise".
Andrew Morris, an English professor at Loughborough University in the UK, wrote that the experience was "absolutely terrifying" at first.
They resumed their normal lives shortly thereafter. They were calm and assured that it wasn't catastrophic.
Although it is not clear how long the plane was in the air at the time of the problem, reports suggest it could have been about 45 minutes.
'Technical fault'
Aviation Herald, a commercial aviation website, reports that the crew advised Brisbane Airport's air traffic controllers of the situation in advance and asked that emergency services be called upon landing.
Emirates released a statement later confirming that the rupture had not affected "the fuselage frame or structure of aircraft."
According to the statement, "Our flight EK430 from Dubai to Brisbane on July 1, experienced a technical problem."
One of the 22 tires on the aircraft burst during cruise. This caused damage to a small section of the aerodynamic fairing (an outer panel or skin) of the aircraft.
The airline confirmed that the plane had safely landed in Australia and that passengers had debarked as planned. The exterior damage to the wide-body airliner was repaired.
Emirates adds that "the fairing has been completely changed, checked, and cleared by engineers, Airbus, and all other relevant authorities."
"The safety and well-being of our crew and passengers has been our highest priority."
This incident occurred just days after A380 superjumbo, which was in decline before the pandemic, was granted a brief reprieve when Lufthansa, a German airline, announced plans to redeploy it from summer 2023.
Airbus A380 is on the verge of being retired since Airbus announced that it would cease production in 2019.
CNN reached out to Emirates for more information.
Top image credit: Avherald.com
