The UAE flag carrier currently flies the A380 to nearly 50 destinations worldwide. Quadjets have become a rare sight worldwide over the last few years, with only a few airlines still operating them. They are gradually being replaced with more modern and fuel-efficient twinjets on long-haul routes. TheAirbus A380is even rarer as several carriers retired the superjumbo following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Emirates has held on to its A380s and currently operates 119 examples of the type in its fleet.
With an average age of 9.4 years,the airline may continue flying the superjumbo into the 2040s. According to data fromCirium, an aviation analytics company, Emirates has A380 flights from its Dubai base to 49 destinations on all six habitable continents. Europe has the most flights, followed by Asia, Oceania, North America, Africa, and South America. Let us take a look at the aircraft’s top routes.
Two airports have at least 35 weekly flights
With ten airlines still operating the world’s largest passenger aircraft, there are 7,079 scheduled flights and 3.5 million seats with the A380 this month. Emirates has 4,854 scheduled flights (over twice as many as all other operators combined).
Home to the largest A380 operator, Dubai International (DXB) is the top airport for superjumbo flights. Apart from Emirates, Singapore Airlines is the only other carrier flying the aircraft to Dubai. This month, there are two airports with at least 35 Emirates A380 flights, as illustrated below:
| Rank | Route | Flights/week | Seats/week |
| 1 | Dubai-London Heathrow | 42 | 20,818 |
| 2 | Dubai-Bangkok | 35 | 18,565 |
| 3 | Dubai-Manchester | 21 | 12,098 |
| Dubai-Paris | 21 | 10,878 | |
| Dubai-Jeddah | 21 | 10,843 | |
| Dubai-Cairo | 21 | 10,479 | |
| Dubai-Sydney | 21 | 10,199 |
With an average of42 weekly/six daily flights, Dubai-London Heathrow is Emirates’ top Airbus A380 route this month. Heathrow sees an average of 146 weekly A380 flights, making it the second most popular destination for the type.Flights are operated by six carriers, with British Airways having the highest number of services (as expected).
In total, Emirates has 180 scheduled flights and 89,220 seats on the route in April 2024. The earliest Dubai-London Heathrow flight departs at 02:30, while the last departs at 15:45 local time. Overall, Heathrow Airport is Emirates’ top destination, with an average of49 weekly flightsfrom Dubai. The carrier also has daily Boeing 777 flights between the two destinations.
Dubai-Bangkok has35 weekly/five daily flights, making it Emirates’ second busiest A380 route. The earliest flight departs the Emirati capital at 02:50, while the last flight departs at 22:30. Overall, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) is the carrier’s second most popular destination by the number of weekly flights. Qatar Airways is the only other carrier flying the A380 to Bangkok.
Five airports with 21 weekly flights
Emirates has five routes from Dubai with21 weekly/three daily flights. However, the total number of seats differs for each destination because of the different configurations in Emirates’ A380 fleet.The airline has four unique configurations, with the highest-capacity aircraft having an impressive 615 seats. These only have two classes, with 557 seats in economy and 58 in business.
Manchester (MAN) is one of the airports that sees the two-class mid-range A380s. Emirates has 12,098 seats from Dubai to Manchester, which is the most of any route with three daily flights. The first flight departs Dubai at 03:00, with the final flight departing at 14:30 local time. The Dubai-based carrier remains the only airline with superjumbo flights to Manchester.
Dubai-Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) has an average of 10,878 weekly seats. The earliest flight out of Dubai is at 04:05, while the latest flight departs at 14:40. Qatar Airways is also the only other carrier with A380 flights to CDG this month. Dubai-Jeddah has slightly fewer seats (10,483). With three daily flights, the first service is operated at 00:10 and the last at 15:40. Emirates is currently the only airline deploying the superjumbo to Jeddah.
Cairo International Airport (CAI) is Emirates’ top A380 destination in Africa. The route sees its three-class quadjets, with the first flight departing Dubai at 08:15 and the last at 21:55. Meanwhile, Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD) sees Emirates’ three and four-class ultra-long range A380s. The first flight departs Dubai at 02:15, while the last departs at 21:30 local time.
Other airports with at least 14 weekly flights
There are also nine routes with14 weekly/two daily Emirates A380 flights. The route with the most seats among the nine isDubai-London Gatwick (LGW). The airline currently deploys its two and three-class superjumbos, averaging 7,938 seats. The first flight departs for Gatwick at 08:00 and the last at 14:55.
The London airport has up to 60 A380 flights this month, all operated by Emirates.The carrier has 91 weekly/13 daily A380 flights to the UK, flying daily to Birmingham (BHX) and Glasgow (GLA). Other airports with at least two daily flights are shown below:
- Mauritius (MRU) – 7,746 seats
- Munich (MUC) – 7,231 seats
- Zurich (ZRH) – 7,068 seats
- Milan (MXP) – 7,056 seats
- Moscow (DME) – 7,042 seats
- Singapore (SIN) – 6,976 seats
- New York (JFK) – 6,811 seats
- Melbourne (MEL) – 6,776 seats
