It can take up to 50 people to handle the turnaround of an A380 and the double-deck plane presents considerable challenges for the airport's staff.

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It hopes to double production of the plane this year to about 10 a month.

CNN: Q&A: Dreamliner woes explained

Researchers at MIT, led by Dr Mark Drela and tasked by NASA, have come up with a double-wide design: instead of the traditional single cylindrical body, two partial cylinders are joined together with three engines at the back of the plane between the double tail.

BBC: The futurist: Will green aeroplanes take off?

In December it was disclosed that Iraq would be allowed to acquire 36 single-engine Lockheed Martin F-16s and that Oman would double its fleet of the same plane to 24 aircraft.

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Designing a new plane will cost more than double that sum and delay its arrival further, giving Boeing a four-year head start.

ECONOMIST: Cabin fever

He was widely praised after Thursday's forced water landing, apparently caused by a "double bird strike, " which crippled the plane's engines.

CNN: US Airways captain the 'consummate pilot'