Airline flies vacant, delivering no passenger, to keep trainee pilot authorized

International travel is becoming very limited as air routes close, land borders close and new restrictions are put in place that prevent flights from leaving.

Airlines are taking ultimate measures to overcome the pandemic, with Asiana Airlines Inc. flying the world's biggest commercial plane more than 20 times, taking off nowhere and delivering no passengers, simply to keep trainee pilots authorized.

The several — a visit to Thailand to make use of a simulator owned by Thai Airways International Pcl — was halted due to journey bans, an Asiana spokesman mentioned.

(A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and the environment in which it flies, for pilot training, design, or other purposes).

For a number of hours a day for 3 days in May, the vacant Airbus SE A380 flew over South Korea to authorize pilots of the 495-seats superjumbo to apply to take off and to land.