Planes on parade: 3 turtle-themed jets lined up for events at Narita airport turn heads

NARITA, Chiba -- All Nippon Airways Co. (ANA)'s three sea turtle-themed Airbus A380 aircraft in blue, green and orange are sometimes parked side by side on the tarmac at Narita International Airport east of Tokyo for events including special on-board restaurants. Lucky travelers might catch a glimpse of them from their own flights as they land, take off or taxi.

The planes' exterior designs evoke the image of Hawaii: The first is blue like a Hawaiian sky, the second emerald green like its oceans, and the third a sunset orange. When stationed beside each other, their wings are separated by just 7.5 meters. ANA introduced the first in March 2019, and the latest arrived in October this year

ANA's A380s are assigned to flights between Narita and Honolulu, but their operation was suspended at the end of March 2020 with the coming of the coronavirus pandemic. Since then, they have made only two round trips, both in August 2021. It is yet to be decided when the third plane will start conveying passengers.

The double-decker A380 is the world's largest passenger aircraft, measuring 72.7 meters long, 79.8 m wide, and 24.1 m high. Its maximum takeoff weight is 560 metric tons, and the cabin has 520 seats.

(Japanese original by Tadakazu Nakamura, Narita Bureau)