No Airbus A380s in the Skies Right Now

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a growing aviation crisis that has resulted in airlines being grounded across the world. For most of the Airbus A380s, it means that they have also been grounded until the situation changes.

The size and design of the Airbus A380 are currently putting the aircraft at a disadvantage. With no passengers to fill up seats, the vast capacity of the aircraft has led to the type mostly being grounded. At the start of the Coronavirus pandemic, some airlines used the aircraft for repatriations. It was a perfect choice for moving large numbers of stranded passengers at once, back to their homes.

At the moment, though, most repatriation efforts have been concluded. Operating the giant of the skies at a time like this where demand is at an all-time low, will not be economically profitable or environmentally friendly. Smaller, more fuel-efficient aircraft are now mainly being used as convenient replacements.

According to FlightRadar24.com, Emirates is, without a doubt, the largest Airbus A380 operator with 116 aircraft. If other airlines were to ground its Airbus A380s during regular times, it would have minimal effect on the number of the giants flying.

Typically, there are multiple Emirates A380s in the sky at any given time, because the airline only has Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 in its fleet. Now, however, with Emirates and other carriers, at any one time, only quite a few of the aircraft are flying.

There is also the possibility that some airlines won’t be flying the A380s again. But for the Emirates, the model is a vital component of its fleet, so it is unlikely that the UAE flag carrier will stop flying the plane anytime soon, seeing as they have over a 100 of the aircraft. Permanently grounding, or scrapping the entire Airbus A380 fleet would be an unprecedented move.