The emir of Qatar travels in a private jet so big it helped Sardinia airport upgrade

In 2021, the airport Olbia Costa Smeralda In Sardinia, it undertook work to expand its runway to be able to receive long-distance flights, thus opening the door for international airlines to bring a greater volume of tourists to the island. However, the inauguration of this work was somewhat special.

As and how did he count Luxury Launchesthe ceremony inauguration of the new track It starred the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, but he did not do so by unveiling any commemorative plaque or cutting any ribbon. He did it bravely: landing his huge private jeteither. Who said fear?

A private jet so big that it changes the category of the airport

In the summer of 2021, the works on the Sardinian airport had just been completed. In an attempt to escape the scorching heat of Doha, the emir wanted to spend a few days of relax in the Mediterranean. Neither quick nor lazy, the president gave the order to embark to his crowded entourage who usually accompanies him on his private plane, and they headed to Sardinia.

The Boeing 747-8, in addition to being one of the largest airplanes in the worldis the plane that Qatar Amiri Flight, the airline owned by the Qatari emirate, has assigned as a private plane for the top leader of the country. The emir’s plane, valued at around 370 million euros, has impressive dimensions, being 76 meters long, more than 68 meters wide and weighing close to 450 tons at takeoff.

Qatar Boeing 747-8 Amiri Flight. The “private jet” of the emir of Qatar

Olbia airport was already a key point due to its capacity to move almost 1.8 million passengers in 2008, operating mainly with domestic flights and some destinations in Europe.

The infrastructure had just been expanded, lengthening the main runway by about 300 meters to a length of 2,740 meters, the safety zones were expanded and the taxiway was improved, which speeds up the approach to and departure from the runway. In principle, there would be no problem for the huge private jet to land.

There was only one small detail: the track had not been tested previously and, in fact, It wasn’t even approved so that planes the size of the emir’s 747-8 could land there. Unimportant details.

Olbia Costa Smeralda airport in Sardinia after its expansion

As the airlines had not yet scheduled any long-haul international routes from that airport, the airport authorities took advantage of the visit of your important tourist to officially certify the ability to operate this type of flights that use aircraft such as the Boeing 747, Boeing 777, the Airbus A330, the Airbus A340. If the emir could land with your private jet loaded with his entourage, international tourists could too.

The operation was carried out without incident, confirming that both the length and the paving of the runway were adequate to support the operations of these air giants.

According what was published through the local environment The New Sardegnathanks to the inaugural maneuver of the private jet of the Emir of Qatar, in November of that same year the first flights connecting Sardinia with Los Angeles, China and Singapore with direct flights were inaugurated.

The emir of Qatar: main interested party

Even if all precautions had been taken during the landing operation, being the first aircraft of its kind to use the runway always entails some risks. However, the emir of Qatar was especially interested in international planes being able to land on that runway. full of tourists.

The reason is easy to guess. The most prestigious hotels, marinas and resorts on the Emerald Coast belong to Emerald Holdingwholly controlled by the Qatar Investment Authority.

Hotel Cala Di Volpe in Sardinia. One of the five-star hotels of the Emir of Qatar

We are talking about a series of five-star hotels that offer luxury stays on the shores of the Mediterranean for clients as select as the Emir of Qatar. Therefore, it is not strange that the highest representative of this hospitality empire opens the way for millionaires from all over the world to use the new runway to land with their private jets or arrive accommodated in the seats business of international airlines.

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Image | Wikimedia Commons (Khamenei.ir, Mehmet Mustafa Celik, John Murphy), Marriott