A pilot traced a virtual Christmas tree Wednesday on a test flight over Germany using a brand new A380, the world largest Airbus plane. The flight crew spent nearly five-and-a-half hours flying in the shape of a Christmas tree that featured multiple round ornaments hanging from it.

The flight began at the Airbus facility in Hamburg, Germany, as it ventured in a variety of regions in Europe to complete the hefty task. It even headed to Denmark to create the tree topper. While it was intended as a way to spread holiday cheer, this isn't an uncommon occurrence. Airbus claimed to have "hundreds of these flights every year."

The pilot and engineers on the flight carried out their mission Wednesday through the cooperation of air traffic controllers.

"The routing of these flights is flexible," a spokesperson for Airbus said Wednesday to The Telegraph. "They take off and land at the Airbus Airport in Hamburg-Finkenwerder. Thanks to the cooperation of the air traffic controllers... it was possible to fly that Christmas tree flight path."

"It was the idea of test pilots and engineers — an Airbus greeting to all aviation fans during this Christmas period," the spokesperson added.

An outline of the flight's journey after the plane took off was shared by Flightradar24, a Swedish website that details real-time airplane flight data on a map. The visual shows a yellow plane as it traces the Christmas tree and its assortment of ornaments.

Flightradar24 also took to Twitter to answer the public's burning questions on the Airbus crew's creation, which led many people to debate whether the virtual Christmas tree was real. It also provided clarification on other unique flights like the Boeing 787 drawing a 787.

"Yes, it's real," Flightradar24 said on Twitter. "This is a test flight that would be conducted regardless of the particular flight path."

Airbus has yet to identify the pilot responsible for the holiday-themed occurrence.

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Christmas Germany