Dublin Airport (DUB) is set to welcome its biggest ever commercial jet when the Chinese Premier, Li Qiang, arrives in Ireland for a two-day visit.
Premier Li will arrive in the Irish capital on January 16, 2024, shortly after 7pm local time on an Air China Boeing 747-8, the largest edition of the much loved ‘Queen of the Skies’.
The Boeing 747-8 stands at 76 meters in length and has a wingspan measuring 68 meters.
The previous biggest commercial plane to land at DUB was a smaller variant of the ‘Queen of the Skies’, the Boeing 747-400, which has a wingspan measuring 64 meters and is 71 meters long.
However, the largest aircraft to ever land at DUB was the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, a military aircraft that arrived at the airport in 2019.
“This will be the biggest commercial aircraft to ever land at Dublin Airport and will join the long list of landmark moments in the long history of the airport, which this week celebrates its 84th birthday,” Graeme McQueen, Media Relations Manager at daa, said.
McQueen added: “The runways at Dublin Airport have just about seen it all over the past eight decades, from numerous US Presidents, through to The Beatles and several Popes, but this is a first and the arrival of a 747-8 aircraft will mark yet another significant milestone for the airport.”
During his time in Ireland Premier Li will meet with President Michael D Higgins and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
