Airbus to use outdated superjumbo jet to test hydrogen-fuelled flights

Airbus ceased deliveries of the A380 'superjumbo' last year. Now the company plans to use it to test its first propulsion system using hydrogen.

Airbus will use its A380 jet as the unlikely test bed to help the industry fly into a fuel-efficient future. The jet is the last superjumbo of a bygone kerosene-guzzling era.

Airbus will use it to test its first propulsion system using hydrogen, a fuel the planemaker wants to introduce on a new passenger aircraft by 2035. The modified double-decker, the first of its kind that Airbus ever built, will maintain its four conventional turbines, while a fifth engine adapted for hydrogen use will be mounted on the rear fuselage.