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Sydney Airport has earned itself the joint top spot as the host of the most A380 operators.
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Joining London Heathrow at the top, Sydney Airport is now tied as the airport accommodating the most diverse list of A380s, with both hosting superjumbos from five different carriers, according to Cirium.
Sydney Airport still falls behind London Heathrow in terms of the number of A380s monthly, thanks to 247 services from British Airways, 186 from Emirates with six a day between Dubai International and Heathrow, and 62 from Singapore Airlines — a total of 495. Sydney comparatively has just 188.
London-Heathrow is the second most popular airport for A380s falling behind Dubai with 588 rotations. This is likely to change when Etihad arrives at Heathrow once more.
Sydney and Heathrow have tied for A380 hosting in the past, with the two both hosting nine operators between 2016 and 2019. Due to the culling of large four-engine planes for passenger travel, these numbers are unlikely to be reached again.
For the month, a total of 46 airports had A380s come and go.
The Airbus A380, designed as a competitor to the beloved Boeing 747, is set to follow in its footsteps.
The 747 Queen of the Skies is no longer being used as a passenger jet, and the pandemic has sped up the demise of the A380.
However, where the 747 still has life as a cargo carrier by the likes of Atlas Air, UPS and Cargolux, Airbus never built a cargo version of the A380, despite having developed one — the A380-800F.
The plane is also too heavy and expensive to operate compared to other aircraft.
Airbus slowed production of the A380 until it ceased in 2021, with the last plane going to Emirates.
The aerospace company planned to sell second-hand A380s to recoup finances and extend the life of the aircraft until the pandemic decreased interest even further.
Sydney’s new title as a leading host of the A380 shows that despite the plane’s lifespan being shortened by the pandemic and interest decreasing due to operating costs and increased difficulty in filling large aircraft, the superjumbo’s life is not quite over yet.
