Photos of the incident show part of an aerobridge’s footings hit the top and bottom of one of the superjumbo’s four engines.

While relatively modern, the fact that there were four of them meant that the A380 was inherently less efficient than a twinjet like the Boeing 777, a large airliner that only needed two engines.

An aerobridge has collided with a plane on the tarmac of Sydney Airport shortly before a Qantas flight was due to take off on Saturday morning.