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RICKY WILSON / THINGS
The A380 disappears in the clouds over Auckland.
The pilot of the last plane that left Auckland for thousands of stranded Germans has taken the city on an overnight flight.
And when Lufthansa’s Airbus A380-841 flew over his lap of the city, the Sky Tower shone in the red, black, and gold of the German flag.
The double-decker plane’s Monday afternoon flight was the latest of several operated by the German airline and Air New Zealand to return up to 15,000 Germans and Europeans stranded in the country by the coronavirus blockade.
Hayden Dahm
A flight that takes the Germans home says goodbye to Auckland, as seen from Cornwall Park.
Taking off around 7 p.m., it flew west for a short time before making a sudden flight to fly north, over Middlemore Hospital and Mt Wellington.
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Arriving in the eastern suburb of Glendowie, he turned left and continued to fly low, past Devonport and then shooting south over the illuminated Sky Tower and the inner suburbs.
Flightradar24
The Lufthansa A380 flew one lap from Auckland on Monday night.
The flyby continued over Mount Roskill before turning west again and flying towards Tasman over Muriwai, bound for Frankfurt, via Bangkok.
Charter flights followed the signing of a contract between the German embassy in Wellington and Air New Zealand.
Passengers on repatriation flights must reimburse the German government for the cost of an economy class ticket, but did not have to pay in advance.
RICKY WILSON / THINGS
The flight was the last of several stranded visitors returning from Germany and other European countries.
Lufthansa pilots flew similar overflights during the first repatriation flights that departed from Auckland and Christchurch.
Air New Zealand planes have also been used to fly Germans stranded home, with the first Boeing 777-300 departing on Friday, April 3, bound for Frankfurt via Vancouver.
The German-New Zealand chamber of commerce requested the lighting of the Sky Tower inspired by the German flag as thanks to New Zealand for helping the 12,000 stranded German tourists in the country, SkyCity said in a statement.
RICKY WILSON / THINGS
The heavy Lufthansa A380 flew a circuit around Auckland before heading west towards Bangkok.
RICKY WILSON / THINGS
The Sky Tower was lit in the colors of the German flag to thank New Zealand for supporting stranded visitors.
RICKY WILSON / THINGS
The Lufthansa Airbus A380-841 pilot invited Auckland for a final flyby on Monday night.
Christchurch / Lufthansa Airport
Lufthansa airline workers volunteer on “emotional” repatriation flights for very personal reasons.
