Emirates has made significant changes to its network by dropping its iconic Airbus A380 widebody passenger aircraft from major routes, according to the company’s updated schedule.
The UAE airline will cease to fly its A380s to eight destinations previously served by jumbo jets.
The list of airports that will no longer see arrivals from the Emirates A380 aircraft include four European destinations, Birmingham (BHX), Copenhagen (CPH), Nice (NCE), and Prague (PRG); as well as four cities in Asia, Beijing (PEK), Hong Kong (HKG), Shanghai (PVG), and Tokyo (NRT).
Emirates currently operates two daily flights to Birmingham (BHX) with its Boeing 777-300ER jet, but has been considering the use of its A380 aircraft on the once daily flight beginning July 1, 2022. However, as the aviation industry continues to recover from the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on passenger demand, the carrier decided to stick to its previous plan and remain operating two daily flights with the 777s.
A similar move was made with flights to Copenhagen (CPH). The airline was supposed to deploy the A380 on its daily operations from October 30, 2022, but will continue to offer a single daily flight using the Boeing 777-300ER.
Emirates also expected to return the A380 to Nice (NCE) and Prague (PRG) from July 1, and October 30, 2022, respectively, but the company will continue operating one daily service with the 777s.
Due to the slow recovery in Asia post-global lockdown, which was significantly affected by China’s tough zero-COVID policy, passenger demand for international travel remains low. As a result, Emirates abandoned plans to operate single daily flights to Beijing (PEK) and Shanghai (PVG) with the iconic jumbo jet from July 1, 2022. The airline temporarily suspended flights to both destinations instead.
Meanwhile, Tokyo (NRT) was also one of the major Asian airports where the airline was expecting to return with its A380 from July 2022. However, the company decided to continue operating the destination once per day with the Boeing 777-300ER jet.
Emirates dropped the idea of the A380 return to Hong Kong (HKG), which was scheduled to take place on October 30, 2022. However, the route will continue to be operated via Emirates’ Boeing 777 plane with a stop in Bangkok (BKK) once per day.