Emirates jumbo lands on airport's roundabout

A scaled-down "superjumbo" has been installed in a landmark site at Heathrow.

The model version of a double-deck Emirates Airbus A380 was winched into place early this morning on the roundabout at the entrance to the airport off the M4 slip road.

The site had previously been occupied by a model British Airways Concorde for 17 years. When it was removed in 2007, the Middle Eastern airline bid a six-figure sum to position its plane on the roundabout for six years, meaning it will be one of the first sights to greet visitors during the 2012 Olympics.

Twenty-five million people are estimated to pass the location each year, with Emirates hoping to highlight their fleet of the A380s, which carry 555 passengers.