The world’s largest passenger plane touched down at Stansted Airport for the very first time this week.

The new British Airways superjumbo flew into the airport on Monday as part of the airline's flight training programme before the aircraft enters long-haul service later this year.

The test flight of the Airbus A380 also enabled the crew to familiarise themselves with the operational requirements and layout of Stansted’s airfield in the event the aircraft has to divert as a precaution or if its destination airport is unavailable.

Stansted Airport’s Managing Director, Andrew Harrison, said: “This fabulous aircraft is more fuel efficient than its predecessors and is one of the quietest planes in the sky - it really is a whispering giant.

“The state-of-the-art aircraft demonstrates the continual improvements made in design and technology by the aviation industry to meet the dual challenge of providing for passenger growth while reducing environmental impacts.”