Dubai International Airport (DXB) based-Emirates will temporarily return one of its massive Airbus A380s to Flughafen Frankfurt am Main (FRA) in May. Unlike other airlines that grounded the A380 following restrictions imposed by the pandemic, the Gulf carrier has continued to operate A380s on some high-traffic routes.
The pandemic hurt the Airbus A380
Frankfurt Airport was once a safe bet for plane spotters hoping to get a glimpse of the world’s largest passenger aircraft. German national flag carrier Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, Asiana, THAI Airways, Singapore Airlines, and Korean Air all operated A380 flights to Germany’s largest airport.
With the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, this all changed as passenger numbers plummeted. With the demand for seats having fallen off a cliff, airline bosses looked at the viability of operating large four-engined aircraft. Since March of 2020, the only Airbus A380 flights out of Frankfurt have been Lufthansa jets departing for storage in Teruel, Spain.
Of its fleet of 14 Airbus A380s, six are scheduled to retire, with the other eight listed as being stored. Amid the onset of the virus and Lufthansa looking to cut its carbon emissions, it will not be surprising to see the German airline not bringing the A380 back into service.
Emirates sees a role for the A380
As the world’s largest Airbus A380 airline with 117 planes, Emirates still sees a role for the aircraft at airports where slots are restricted. During an exclusive webinar hosted by Simple Flying Emirates, President Sir Tim Clark said:
“It stands testament to the quality of the A380 because Heathrow slots are restricted, Hong Kong slots are restricted, every single major hub is restricted on slots. So, if you want to put a 787 in there to a Heathrow slot where you could put a 517 seater A380, it doesn’t take long to get to the maths on that….