Two A380s to fly over Sydney Harbour - The Australian

TWO Airbus A380s will fly in formation over Sydney Harbour on Sunday to mark the start of a partnership between airline carriers Qantas and Emirates.

A Qantas A380 and Emirates A380 will start flying north of Longreef, turn around into Sydney Harbour and pass over the Sydney Opera House before flying in tandem over the bridge at 1500 feet around 10.30am (AEDT) on Sunday, Qantas said in a statement.

The airline said it's believed to be the first time two commercial airline A380s have flown in formation.

"Qantas and Emirates have worked extremely close together to make this possible," Qantas chief pilot Philip Green said.

"Pilots from both airlines have conducted dozens of special simulator training sessions since January this year".

The flyover marks the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's approval of a Qantas and Emirates partnership earlier this week, which allowed both airlines to combine operations for an initial period of five years.

Under the alliance, Qantas will use Dubai, rather than Singapore, as the carrier's stopover point for its flights to London.

The flyover manoeuvre on Sunday has been approved by safety regulators in both Australia and the United Arab Emirates.