Emirates Airline (EK/UAE), the leading carrier in the Middle East, has a large fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft, all based at Dubai International Airport. The airline began operations in 1985 with two aircraft, which were not its own, expanding rapidly from the early 1990s onwards after placing a major order for new Boeing 777s and changing its business model by developing a hub in Dubai.

Launch of Emirates

On October 25th, 1985, with a Boeing 737-300 and an Airbus A300-600B2, both wet-leased from Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the airline made its first flights, operating the Dubai-Karachi and Dubai-Mumbai routes, thus launching the first airline in the United Arab Emirates.

It wasn’t long before Emirates added its first own aircraft to its fleet, a brand new Airbus A310-300.

First destinations and aircraft

The aircraft in question, an Airbus A310-304(ET) with registration number A6-EKA, departed from Toulouse on June 28th, 1987, arriving in Dubai two days later, and entering into regular service as of early July 1987.

In its first five years of operation, Emirates reached 13 regular destinations in its network, including five in the Middle East, five in Asia, two in Europe, and one in Africa. All of these were operated by its own Airbus A310-300s, as well as Boeing 727-200s, Boeing 737-300s and Airbus A300s.

As for their destinations, all of them from/to Dubai, were the following: 1985—Mumbai, Delhi, Karachi; 1986—Amman, Colombo, Cairo, Dhaka; 1987—Male, Frankfurt, Istanbul; 1988—Damascus; 1989—Jeddah, Kuwait.

The 1990s commenced with two major announcements: the expansion of Dubai Airport Terminal, with an investment of $2 billion, and the order for its first own wide-body aircraft, the Boeing 777, which arrived as of 1996.

Emirates continued to expand its connectivity from DXB, adding new routes in Africa, Asia, and Europe, as well as reaching Oceania for the first time. The main highlights regarding new routes include the launch of flights to Kuala Lumpur, London, Melbourne, Munich, Paris, Rome, Singapore, and Zurich during this decade.

However, the next decade began with a historic announcement for Emirates and Airbus, along with commercial aviation, with the introduction of the world’s largest passenger aircraft.

The first Airbus A380

At the Farnborough Air Show 2000, Emirates became the first airline to order the Airbus A380-800, the world’s largest passenger aircraft, which was scheduled to enter service in 2007.

First of 123

As planned, in July 2008, Emirates incorporated its first Airbus A380, marking the commencement of a new era. The Airbus A380-800 joined the Emirates fleet for the first time, which would eventually become the main operator to date, and will continue to be so in the future, as it plans to operate these aircraft until at least 2040.

Emirates’ first Airbus A380-861 was registered as A6-EDA, landing in Dubai on July 29th, 2008, from Toulouse, brand new from the factory. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this aircraft and six other A380s were retired between February and March 2020, with most of them being scrapped.

The airline has different seat configurations on its Airbus A380s, some with more Premium and Business seats, while others have a high-density layout with over 555 seats in Economy.

4 class (ultra long-range): 484 seats

• 14 Private Suites, 76 seats in Business, 56 seats in Premium Economy, and 322 seats in Economy

3 class (long-range): 519 seats

• 14 Private Suites, 76 seats in Business, and 429 seats in Economy

Other 3 class long-range: 517 seats

• 14 Private Suites, 76 seats in Business, and 427 seats in Economy

3 class (ultra long-range): 489 seats

• 14 Private Suites, 76 seats in Business, and 401 seats in Economy

Other 3 class ultra long-range: 487 seats

• 14 Private Suites, 76 seats in Business, and 399 seats in Economy

2 class (long-range): 615 seats

• 58 seats in Business, and 557 seats in Economy

Based on our database, Emirates operates 560 weekly flights from/to Dubai with Airbus A380-800 aircraft, significantly more than the second largest A380 operator worldwide, Singapore Airlines, which performs 42 weekly flights to/from Singapore.

Emirates currently has 116 Airbus A380-800s in its fleet, with 98 in operation, at the time of publication. The remaining 18 are parked in Dubai, some for maintenance, either at Dubai International Airport (DXB/OMDB) or Dubai World Central (DWC/OMDW).

The 116 Airbus A380s operated by Emirates are on average 11 years old. Its oldest aircraft is the A380-861, registration number A6-EDF, the last aircraft added to the fleet in the 2000s that is still in operation. The newest A380 is the one registered as A6-EVS, which was introduced by Emirates in mid-December 2021.

Routes operated by Emirates with A380s

Information obtained through our database

Sydney-Christchurch and vice versa is the only route conducted by Emirates with the Airbus A380-800 that does not start or end in Dubai. The airline sells tickets for this route through its website, being the only one operating the A380 in the Australia-New Zealand market.

The United Kingdom is the main market for Emirates’ Airbus A380-800s, reaching 98 weekly flights to/from Dubai. In addition, its main route with the A380 is also in this market, Dubai – London, performing 63 flights per week.

Its shortest route

On December 25th, 2025, Emirates operated a single flight between Dubai and Medina with an Airbus A380-800 configured for 615 passengers, replacing a Boeing 777-300(ER), which normally covers this route.

The aircraft, registered as A6-EOY, departed Dubai at 15:21 local time bound for Medina covering flight EK809, where it landed at 16:42 local time. After two hours and a half in the Saudi city, as EK810, it took off for Dubai, landing at DXB 125 minutes later.

Dubai and Medina are separated by 1,600 kilometers, making it the shortest route operated by an Emirates Airbus A380-800 in 2025.

Emirates has many Airbus A380-800s with special liveries, whether sports-themed, Dubai-themed, or their own special designs.

All of these aircraft, like the others with the airline’s old or new livery, can be tracked via Flightradar.

Special liveries

1. A6-EEP: The Emirates Airline Foundation
2. A6-EES: Destination Dubai
3. A6-EET: Emirates Courier Express
4. A6-EEU: Destination Dubai
5. A6-EEW: Destination Dubai
6. A6-EOD: Official Airline Partner of the NBA
7. A6-EOE: Wimbledon Official Partner
8. A6-EUE: Emirates Skywards 25th Anniversary
9. A6-EUH: Proud Partner of Grand Slam Tennis

Cover photo: © Fang Xiaoyu – JetPhotos (Dubai, United Arab Emirates)