A350 to be converted into Lufthansa’s latest atmospheric research platform

One of Lufthansa’s Airbus A350-900s is undergoing an extensive conversion programme, being fitted with equipment to enable the twinjet to operate as the carrier’s latest climate research platform. The aircraft was delivered to the carrier three years ago, in May 2018. Lufthansa says it will be transformed into a “flying research laboratory” by modification specialist venture Lufthansa Technik Malta. The aircraft will collect data on long-haul routes from the end of 2021 for the European IAGOS-CARIBIC programme, which uses civil aircraft to investigate and analyse the air with a complex 1.6t set of instruments fitted inside a container. Lufthansa has been involved in atmospheric and climate measurement work since the mid-1990s, having used a similarly-modified Airbus A340-600, an A330-300, and an A340-300.<br/>