A6-EET
 

Hi All

I was on EK904 from AMM to DXB yesterday, 25 October operated by A6-EET (an A380). Before pushback at AMM, the captain told us that due to some technical situation with the one (or more) of the engines, the aircraft would become warmer than normal temporarily until they started the engines/the system externally. After landing in DXB, captain came on again and told us that it would be a while before the engines can be shut off once the plane parks and the jet bridges can connect to the plane due to the same issue in AMM.

I'm not a technical expert in any way (and may have misunderstood or misheard what the captain said) but I'm very interested to learn more about what this issue/engine situation was or could have been for my own knowledge. I'd be very grateful for anyone with any insight.

Thank you

Sounds like the APU was inop.

Yep, inoperative Auxilliary Power Unit (APU - a small gas turbine mounted in the tail). This meant they couldn't run the cabin air conditioing after push back and before engine start and that on arrival they had to run one or more engines at the gate to keep the A/C running until external electrical power is supplied, which meant they couldn't attach the airbridge untill all engines are shut down.

Thank you for the helpful information and insight!