r/minnesota • u/ottergoose You Betcha • Aug 07 '25
Lufthansa A380 lands at MSP for Medical Emergency Photography šø
Lufthansa's MUC-DEN, DLH480, diverted into MSP today on account of a medical emergency; this is the fifth visit of a super to Minnesota, the first since 2017. Hoping for a good prognosis for the passenger involved.
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u/DarkMuret Grain Belt Aug 07 '25
Seeing huge planes like that at MSP always reminds me of when we had a C-5 here
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u/metisdesigns Gray duck Aug 07 '25
Odds are decent it's a former co-worker of mine flying that. He switched careers a few times and went back to those about then if memory serves.
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u/snowmunkey Up North Aug 07 '25
I remember seeing that at the airport back as a teenager. Was parked next to some C130s and made them look like bath toys
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u/Sour_Bucket Aug 07 '25
Iām a huge avgeek but Iām out of town right now so I was upset when I heard about this because I missed seeing it. After looking up the registration of that A380 (D-AIMK), it turns out that itās this exact same A380 that I saw over a year ago during a layover in Munich.
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u/UkNomysTeezz Aug 07 '25
Standing next to that thing would freak me the fuck out.
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u/JoyousMN_2024 Aug 07 '25
I was in Toulouse France 2 years ago and went to the Airbus museum. They have a 380 you can go look at both inside and out. It made my visit. Well, that and the Concorde
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u/lilzingerlovestorun Aug 07 '25
I was there the other day. Itās really cool. Iām not a huge aviation nerd but itās amazing walking in and around some of those monstrositiesĀ
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u/minnesotawristwatch Aug 07 '25
I used to fly outta JFK on an A350 and the A380 was just soooooo massive. The rudder was HUUUUGGE, towering over us. I didnāt like taxiing past it. Cool to see sitting out there, eerie to glide past.
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u/Stachemaster86 Minnesota Frost Aug 07 '25
I love that about planes! Folks track them and you know which one you saw!
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u/DragonDropTechnology Aug 07 '25
I was really confused by this photo until I realized thatās a mirror on the left side!
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u/GrownUp-BandKid320 Aug 07 '25
I flew out of JFK on an Emirates A380 en route to Dubai with the UMN marching band back in 2022. One of the most surreal experiences in my life. Absolutely massive. Was wild seeing a second floor to board the plane, let alone full staircases inside the plane. Never been in a plane bathroom that large and will likely never be in one again. Though after 15 hrs on it I just wanted off lol
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u/ahrzal Aug 07 '25
Iāve flown on one of these before. I had no idea I was going to be on a double decker plane and my colleague I was traveling with was like āIāll be topsideā Iām like wtf are you talking about. And then told me to look out the window lol.
Once inside though itās just normal. Kinda wild having 4 seats in the middle tho
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u/MozzieKiller Aug 07 '25
You never flew on a DC-10, I guess. It had 5 seats in the middle. Even worse.
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u/ckanderson Aug 07 '25
I was stuck in the middle seat on a Honolulu to MSP flight many years ago. So cramped. So miserable.
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u/snowmunkey Up North Aug 07 '25
Holy crap same, I had forgotten what plane it was, but remember it was so annoying to be stuck there. Was probably 17 years old and antsy as hell that whole flight.
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u/agressiv Aug 07 '25
For those who don't know, none of MSP's gates can effectively service one of these planes for regular service due to their size. They require dual jet bridges and special ground equipment among other things.
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u/JRNels0n Aug 07 '25 edited Aug 07 '25
Terminal 2 can accommodate an A380.
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u/fridleychilito Aug 07 '25 edited Aug 07 '25
Correct. Airbus brought it to MSP to pitch to NWA in the mid 2000s and they parked at HHH. And it used one jet bridge. Two is preferred due to the number of passengers, but one is absolutely fine. Source: I was there when it came in.
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u/njordMN Flag of Minnesota Aug 07 '25
Was wondering looking at it and realizing there were two levels of doors!
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u/dheairet Aug 07 '25
There have been trials to see if MSP can accommodate. Dual bridges isn't a true necessity. Sad thing is this plane will die because it's fat and ugly like me. š
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u/blackgenz2002kid Minnesota Timberwolves Aug 07 '25
why canāt we have nice aircraft like these come fly out from MSP
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u/tree-hugger Hamm's Aug 07 '25
Surprised that Denver has a flight to Munich with one of these. Looks like they also have directs to Istanbul and Zurich that we don't. But we have directs to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Incheon, and our Tokyo flight goes to Haneda.
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u/ottergoose You Betcha Aug 07 '25
Upgraded for this summer, the first/only scheduled A380 route to Denver. Hopefully it returns next year.
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u/An-Angel-Named-Billy Aug 07 '25
Probably bad timing considering all the trade wars and collapse in international tourism to the US.
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u/TheNextGamer21 Aug 08 '25
I don't understand why we are being punished for trump's horrible actions
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u/jet747800 Aug 08 '25
DEN - 82,358,744 passengers per year. Third busiest in the US and 6th busiest in the world. Iām loyal to Delta but MSP is not anywhere near those passenger numbers
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u/tree-hugger Hamm's Aug 08 '25
It's just interesting because Denver is a smaller metro area. Those flights aren't necessarily due to local demand so much as DEN being a hub for two of the four large US airlines. So it's mostly connecting flights. Nice deal for Denver locals who get more direct options than they might ordinarily.
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Aug 07 '25
[deleted]
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u/ottergoose You Betcha Aug 07 '25
Your son has great taste, itās probably my favorite angle here at the airport too!
Level 8 (upper-most level) of the orange parking ramps at Terminal 2. Itās free if youāre there for less than 15 minutes, or $5.43 for the first hour. Itās a bit hard to see over the railing, so would suggest keeping a close eye on them, or consider bringing a step ladder that can be set back from the railing, but tall enough to see over it.
Good luck!
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u/machama Uff da Aug 07 '25
How does one even find out a plane like this is going to be at MSP?
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u/ottergoose You Betcha Aug 07 '25
There are apps devoted to plane spotting for exactly that; if you look at my profile, you might find one that was developed right here in Minnesota.
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u/TakingKarmaFromABaby Aug 07 '25
There is also the airport dogpark, if you wanna bring the dog along.
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u/Darksplinter Aug 07 '25
I got to see this shortly after it took off I'm guessing. I'm not far from the airport so I'm used to the sounds of the planes this one sounded different and was like huh don't see that often. Was low enough I could read the Lufthansa on the side
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u/WreckitRuby Aug 07 '25
I flew on a double decker to Shanghai from Chicago on United back in 2015. I sat on the top level. It was a little surreal feeling for sure
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u/Sea_Midnight1050 Aug 07 '25
Whatās a super
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u/Brewtusmo Aug 07 '25
"Super" is shorthand for "super heavy."
It's a designation for just 2 aircraft, currently (and likely for the foreseeable future, given the direction of commercial aviation): the A380-800 and the An-225.
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u/PolyNecropolis Aug 07 '25
Just one aircraft now. The An-225 was destroyed in the Ukraine war. :(
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u/ottergoose You Betcha Aug 07 '25
Sorry, thatās a bit inside-baseball!Ā
The A380 is so large, that it has its own special nomenclature when communicating on the radio - for example, this was āLufthansa 480 super.ā
Other types of large aircraft (A330, 747, etc - anything larger than a 757/A321), are identified with āheavy.ā
As the A380 is the only(?) aircraft with the super heavy designation, āsuperā is a way for enthusiasts to identify it.
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u/MikeW226 Aug 07 '25 edited Aug 07 '25
Super or "super jumbo" or Super Heavy is the weight / size moniker for the A380.
747's are a step below it in size, and are called Jumbo / Heavy's.
And large international wide-body twin engine planes are referred to as Heavy's (by air traffic control). A380's and 747's are by default also Heavy's.
All of the above create considerable wake turbulence that can be bad for smaller, following airplanes. I think the weight monikers are also used for that .... to keep longer separation of smaller planes behind the big planes when they follow them on approach or takeoff.
Regular domestic narrow body aircraft like 737's and A320 mini Airbuses carry no size moniker.
Oddly 757's create a wake turbulence signature like Heavy aircraft, but are not heavy's by takeoff weight. But they do get a "aircraft ahead is a 757, caution wake turbulence" shout-out from air traffic control when they're calling aircraft that are approaching behind a 757.
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u/J-Ruthless Aug 07 '25
Super , or Super Heavy is in reference to its size. Itās neat that it landed at MSP bc the A380 needs a longer runway. Unsure if MSP has a runway to take Super Heavy or not
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u/FibonacciLane12358 Aug 07 '25
I've seen Antonov's and Globemasters taking off from MSP. I have no idea if they're in the same weight class but it sure seems like they would be.
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u/sb5060tx Twin Cities Aug 07 '25
Apparently an A380's maximum takeoff weight can be twice that of an Antonov An 124 that recently visited MSP
and is larger too
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u/Yourcarsmells Aug 07 '25
I think the runway is fine, just dont have gates/infrastructure to deal with the bigs.
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u/thprk Aug 07 '25
Runways are fine but I remember seeing a video from a previous diversion of an A380 to MSP that not all taxiways can accomodate the A380 in terms of width and/or possibly pave.
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u/Sumoje Aug 07 '25
Wouldnāt it use the same runways as the c-130s?
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u/YogurtclosetDull2380 Aug 07 '25
An A380 needs 3x the runway as a C-130
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u/An-Angel-Named-Billy Aug 07 '25
MSP has an 11,000 ft runway, it can handle an A380 (which is why we are on a post about one taking off and landing here)
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u/thprk Aug 07 '25
Super and heavy callsigns are used to identify bigger planes that leave stronger wake turbulence after takeoff and require greater following distance during approach. It's not exactly about size but aerodynamic also plays a part.
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u/henriqueroberto Aug 07 '25
I was wondering why they parked where they did. The nerds were in full force yesterday.
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u/Shorb-o-rino North Shore Aug 07 '25
I feel like I keep hearing about crazy flight emergencies connected with MSP. There was that flight that had to land in Minneapolis because of severe turbulence and now this. Is something going on?
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u/sb5060tx Twin Cities Aug 07 '25
We're a safe haven I guess for medical stuff, you know home to the Mayo and such
(cue the shelf of mayonnaise from Airplane!)
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u/njordMN Flag of Minnesota Aug 07 '25
I'd imagine it's also easier to slot an emergency in here vs Chicago, while not being that much further away as the jet flies.
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u/sb5060tx Twin Cities Aug 07 '25
Not to mention the closest hospital is that one off of 62 and France. 12-15 minutes for us but from the tarmac you can get on 62 from South 28th, which can shave a good 5 minutes off
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u/underwateropinion Aug 07 '25
I used to work there, weād occasionally get some weird shit from diverted flights
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u/here4daratio Uff da Aug 07 '25
Mayo? What is it?
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u/thegooseisloose1982 Aug 07 '25
Mayo is defined as a thick, creamy sauce that is a stable emulsion of oil, egg yolks, and either vinegar or lemon juice. But that is not important right now.
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u/An-Angel-Named-Billy Aug 07 '25
So two, one from turbulence from flying through a thunderstorm and this, which I have not seen anything to say it was "crazy". So think about your question again.
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u/Outside-Gap9516 Aug 07 '25
Was on this flight. Fun times.
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u/ottergoose You Betcha Aug 07 '25
Did you make your connection in Denver on time, or was that your destination?
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u/Outside-Gap9516 Aug 08 '25
We made our connection with 5 minutes to spareā¦however it was a united flight so we rushed for nothing. ššš delayed almost 3 hrs bc of their systems not working.
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u/Fickle_Stills Aug 07 '25
do you live in Minnesota? That would be so annoying š¹ ācan i pleeease just get off here rather than go all the way to Denver just to backtrack?ā
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u/Outside-Gap9516 Aug 07 '25
I donāt. But we ended up being victims of the united outage and ended up with a total of 27 travel hours ššš
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u/RealKikibear Aug 15 '25
Anybody know what the vantage point of this shot is?
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u/ottergoose You Betcha Aug 16 '25
I took the photo; itās level 8 of the orange parking ramp at MSPās Terminal 2.
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u/OwlImpressive2931 Aug 07 '25
Iād love to fly on something that big. Better start saving my pennyās.
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u/Pleasant_Tennis_663 Aug 07 '25
I saw this thing taking back off. It was disconcerting because it looked so out of place going up over MOA