Elementary School Parents and Children Compete in Tug of War Against the A380 ‘FLYING HONU’, Moving the 340-Ton Aircraft 20 Meters

On October 6th at Narita Airport, a tug of war event was held featuring elementary school parents and children against All Nippon Airways (ANA)’s Airbus A380 aircraft ‘FLYING HONU’.

The tug of war competition with airplanes has been an annual event held by Narita International Airport Corporation (NAA), which operates the airport, since 1993, coinciding with ‘Aviation Day’ on September 20th. In recent years, the competition featured Boeing 767 and 787 aircraft, but this year, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the municipal organization of Narita city, the A380 made its debut.

The A380 aircraft, the largest passenger plane in the world as a double-decker, measures 72.7 meters in length, 79.8 meters in width, and 24.1 meters in height. The FLYING HONU is equipped with 383 economy class seats on the first floor, and 8 first class, 56 business class, and 73 premium economy class seats on the second floor, totaling 520 seats. Among the three A380s owned by ANA, the blue first aircraft (registration code: JA381A) was chosen for the tug of war. It had most recently flown from Honolulu and arrived in Tokyo/Narita on October 5th at 3:48 PM.

1,193 pairs, totaling 3,403 applicants, entered the lottery for the event, with 147 pairs (196 children and 204 parents) participating. Participants came from not only the Kanto area but also from places as far as Hokkaido and Kochi Prefecture. According to NAA, the usual application rate is about 3 to 4 times, but this year, due to the appearance of the A380, it swelled to approximately 8.5 times.

At the opening ceremony held at NAA’s headquarters at Narita Airport, Mr. Isao Oka, Branch Manager of ANA, greeted, “This is the first tug of war event with the A380 in Japan, and probably the first in the world. We hope you enjoy it.”

The tug of war was split into two sessions on the U taxiway (spots 447 to 450) south of Runway B, with participant groups divided into two.

In the first session, 174 participants including 86 children and 88 parents grabbed the approximately 100-meter rope attached to the flying HONU’s nose gear and pulled at the whistle blow. NAA reports that the aircraft, including fuel, weighed about 340 tons that day. Initially immovable, the aircraft started to slowly move as participants continued to pull in unison, eventually advancing about 20 meters, resulting in a significant victory celebration among both adults and children.

Participants then moved to ANA’s hangar, where they enjoyed tours of special vehicles like towing tractors and de-icing cars, as well as ride-alongs in food loaders.

According to ANA, the aircraft used for the tug of war, the first of its type, was scheduled to depart for Honolulu on the NH182 flight leaving Tokyo/Narita at 9:30 PM on October 6th.