Emirates (EK/UAE) have returned their oldest Airbus A380-861 to passenger service after 5 years of inactivity.
A6-EDF is the oldest Airbus A380 in the Emirates fleet. The aircraft was built as MSN007 in February 2006. Emirates is the largest global operator of the A380 and has a total of 121 of the type.
The aircraft has primarily been stored at Dubai World Central International Airport (DWC) since 2020, however the aircraft was ferried from DWC to Dubai International Airport (DXB) on a 21-minute ferry flight on December 30, 2023.
Prior to re-entering passenger service, the aircraft completed a test flight lasting 3 hours and 30 minutes on March 29, 2025. The aircraft’s first revenue flight on return to service was flight EK925 from Dubai (DXB) to Cairo (CAI). A6-EDF has since gone on to operate more flights to destinations including Jeddah (JED) and Zurich (ZRH).
Tracking the Emirates A380 fleet
There are multiple ways to track the Emirates A380 fleet on Flightradar24.com and in our mobile apps. On the web, visit our Emirates data page for a full list of their A380 fleet and to see which aircraft are currently active. To see Emirates A380s on the map on the web or in our apps, use callsign filter ‘UAE’ and aircraft filter ‘A38’.
The development of the Airbus A380 began in the late 1990s, with the formal launch of the program announced in December 2000. The concept of the A380 was to create a large, long-range aircraft that could carry a large number of passengers and reduce congestion at major airports. The A380 made its first flight on April 27, 2005, and was introduced into commercial service in October 2007 with Singapore Airlines. Over the next few years, the A380 was embraced by a number of airlines and became a popular choice for long-haul flights.
Cover photo: Yukiros_31, JetPhotos.
20 Responses
A380 the best aircraft ever made or built nothing to touch it or ever will.
Agreed Gerry, I flew on the A380 from Dubai to Duesseldorf, Germany, what an amazing experience 👏 😀 🙌 😍
747 has it beat. Always will.
Flew a few times to Australia on a A380 what a aircraft roomy and really quiet
John
I have had the joy of flying business class with Emirates on the A380 to Australia from the UK, via Dubai. Fantastic experience and the flights were the smoothest I have ever been on. The aircraft is without a doubt the most comfortable way to fly. I never had the opportunity but would have loved to fly Concorde.
We’ve flown to Australia in the A380 several times from the uk but my favourite aircraft is the Boeing 787 which is in a class of its own. It irons out turbulence and flies at lower relative height, pressure cabin pressure wise, which we find excellent, 17 hours non stop flight and no jet lag after the flight.
Have to disagree with you somewhat.
On your particular flight referred, the B789 used on that route has been adapted especially.
However the standard B788s and B789s are rather narrow uncomfortable jets and are probably the smallest ‘widebodies’ operated worldwide.
I have flown ‘BA’ 788s/789s, also ‘Qatar’ airframes (better, as their inflight service/product is many levels above ‘BA’, even in Business) both B788s/B789,s and B789s with ‘Etihad’ – they are atrociously cramped down the back with pitiful service Inter-Gulf (can one imagine I preferred to fly Saudia A320s against Etihad B789s to/from Riyadh).
Agree with other comments here – I am a huge Qatar A380 fan and use it to fly to UK regularly throught the year
Son confort est inégalable, sa capacité est telle que il est indidpensable aux compagnies qui ont besoin de faire de longs vols, de plus, avec le temps qui passe, nous constatons que les accidents sont pratiquement nuls, l’idée de reprendre des anciens A380 et bien révisés permet à la compagnie de faire voler des avions pratiquement amortis, donc moins chers
A380 è l’aereo migliore del mondo sono andata molte volte e andrò quest’estate a Dubai ovviamente con Emirates
My wife was afraid to fly the A380 because there would be ‘so many people’ on board. When we eventually ‘had’ to fly it (AF from Johannesburg to Paris) she slept for the first time in a plane. After the flight she said that from now on she only wants to fly the A380 ! The quiet giant!
I have flown on an Emirates A380 on several occasions from Dubai to Bali and what struck me most was how much quieter it was inside compared with say the Boeing 777 and the older 747’s which I used to fly in many times on business trips.
Out of Australia to Europe, Emirates A380 is the only way to go.
A few months ago i flew from IAD Dulles/Wash to to Dubai on Emirates A380 it was an awesome experience. Beautiful aircraft ( my favorite) amazing service etc. Look forward to flying on Emirates A380 again sometime
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say
I am a lucky man; flew Emirates A380 in business several times, from Paris to Singapore and back, CDG to Miami and back in business, x number of FRA to NYC with 747 all variants, x number of 777 CDG to SFO, not always in business, but the A380 is great even in economy ; flew CDG to JFK AND BACK, both in CONCORDE, flew Piper Arrow Cannes to Aix les Milles to Avignon and back to Cannes, all by myself.
I counted about 35 different airplanes and about 75 different airports. First flight was CDG to JFK, in 1973, in DC8 ! Now I am building my Concord Model in 2800 LEGO pieces ! Then it’s back to Ships, model of the French BELEM, also a half Atlantic crossing in the BELEM, Acores to St. Nazaire in 10 days…
Go and fly some more before aviation dies because of « ecology « !
Thanks to flightradar24, a great read every time.
Well, I said it all, I have learned how to pilot a Piper Arrow, been flying in commercial planes over ~50 years, including jump seats in the cockpit, built a Red Baron model with remote control flights with the boys,
You don’t have to publish my story which is nothing special. For me all flights are a miracle of science and engineering although I am not in aviation, just a passenger.
I happened to be in transit in DXB first class lounge when she landed on her delivery arrival. Many Emirates staff gathered there rejoicing and much champagne flowing.
I’ve flown on the 380 over the past 10 years and it truly is a great plane, however I’ve noticed a decline in Emirates quality, less film choices, less music choices, the hospitality packs have become cheaper quality, even the wine with the meal used to be small bottles but now it’s poured from a large bottle, come on Emerates, I’ll gladly pay a little more to fly on this plane with the quality service restored
Happy to know that the old chap can come back on the the scene.
Incredible technology performance this A380.
” [T]he A380 was embraced by a number of airlines and became a popular choice for long-haul flights.”
As of January 2025 that “number of airlines” flying the A380 is all of twelve.
An engineering feat, maybe, but as a commercial endeavor the A380 is one of the biggest failures in aviation history.