New details have been announced regarding how British Airways (BA) will bring its Airbus A380s into service.

The carrier has 12 of the planes on order, according to flightglobal.com, but the company must train up its crew before it can use the aircraft as normal. Although BA has not revealed which routes will be used for training, enthusiasts may be able to spot the aircraft using an air traffic radar.

In order to bring pilots up to speed, the firm intends to use the A380 on various European short-haul flights and commission a flight simulator at Heathrow. Currently, four BA pilots have been trained on the plane.

Captain James Basnett, entry-into-service manager for the plane, explained that there will be a balance of short and long-haul crews. He added: “All pilots going on to this aircraft will have had previous Airbus experience.”

The double-decked A380 is already being utilised by other airlines, including Emirates and Qantas. It is currently the largest passenger carrier in the world.

According to traveldailymedia.com, another airline that’s used the A380 on the international circuit is China Southern Airlines, which flew from Guangzhou to Los Angeles. The carrier also looks set to use the model to connect Beijing and Paris from next year.