The 25 Airports That Won’t See Emirates’ A380s This Winter

As Emirates increasingly deploys the A380 to more and more airports globally, an inevitable question arises: where won’t see the double-decker quadjet this winter? We examine the latest.

Twenty-five airports that saw Emirates’ A380s in winter 2019 won’t this winter. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying.

A summary

It seems a long time ago, but in winter 2019 (W19), some 50 airports across the world welcomed Emirates’ A380s, analyzing schedules information from OAG indicates.

The double-decker was used to 31 countries globally, with the UK, Germany, Australia, the USA, and France the top-five. The A380 had 25,229 total flights (two ways combined) that winter and almost 13.1 million seats, or over four in ten (42%) of Emirates’ total.

Multiple airports have welcomed the A380 back, including Düsseldorf. Photo: Düsseldorf Airport.

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What’s happening in winter 2021?

Fast-forward to W21: Emirates will deploy the type to 30 destinations. These include six that returned on October 31st, the start of the current season, along with Düsseldorf on October 23rd and Manchester on September 1st.

As two A380 routes have been added since W19 (Amman and Istanbul), the actual number of airports served in W19 but not now is 25, with a list provided below.

Some 20 countries will see quadjet (down by 11). The USA is up one place to third and replaces Australia, which unsurprisingly has been relegated to 18th on account of its international borders only just reopening. France and Egypt complete the top-five table.

Driven by the depressed demand environment, the A380 has recovered just half of the seats and flights it had. The type has recovered far less than Emirates’ smaller-capacity B777-300ERs (now at 75%), benefiting from higher freighter capacity and fewer premium seats. Airline capacity normally follows demand.

Although not included above, Emirates also has a one-off service to Bahrain – just 303 miles (488km) away – on December 15th ahead of Bahrain’s national day. Photo: Dubai International Airport.

Where won’t be served this winter?

While it absolutely might change if more international borders and restrictions are eliminated for fully vaccinated travelers, the following 25 airports are not currently down to see Emirates’ A380s this winter. There is, understandably, a significant focus on Asia-Pacific, together with fewer ‘core’ markets in Europe and North America.

1. Auckland
2. Bangkok
3. Beijing
4. Birmingham
5. Boston
6. Brisbane
7. Casablanca
8. Christchurch
9. Copenhagen
10. Hong Kong
11. Houston
12. Kuala Lumpur
13. Melbourne
14. Mumbai
15. Muscat
16. Nice
17. Osaka
18. Perth
19. Prague
20. Riyadh
21. Rome
22. Seoul
23. Singapore
24. Taipei
25. Tokyo Narita

Only Africa now has more A380 seats Source of data: OAG.

Asia-Pacific is at just 4% of W19 capacity

While it’s hardly a revelation that Asia-Pacific is very badly hit, the fact that A380 capacity there is at just 4% of the W19 level is eye-opening. It is a stark reminder of how much work there still is to do to increase vaccination rates, open borders, and to reduce other restrictions to grow confidence and demand.

In contrast, Latin America has 95% of W19 A380 capacity (only Sao Paulo sees the type), followed by Europe at 68%, the Middle East with 65%, and North America at 62%. Only Africa is ahead (+1%). Why? Because Cairo has risen to a twice-daily A380 service, significantly increasing capacity.

What do you make of these findings? Let us know in the comments.

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