Airbus Drew Giant Christmas Tree Over Germany

Airbus turned a routine test flight in the world's biggest airliner into a chance to get in the Christmas spirit.

A flight crew based in Hamburg, Germany — where a large chunk of Airbus production takes place — decided to add some holiday cheer to their five-hour test flight of an Airbus A380 by drawing a Christmas tree high over Germany, according to tweets from the flight tracking service Flight Radar.

The design came complete with ornaments and a tree topper that extended into neighboring Denmark, the photos show. The different colors, according to Flight Radar, represent different flight altitudes.

While some social media users took issue with the environmental implications of the stunt, Flight Radar pointed out that the test flight would have been completed anyway, albeit following a different route. Plus, Airbus' Christmas tree is a bit more festive than the design drawn by two U.S. Navy pilots over Washington, D.C. earlier this year.