The first A380 delivered to an airline went into service with Singapore Airlines in October 2007 but was withdrawn less than a decade later and eventually scrapped after three years in storage. Since then, a total of 27 A380s have been dismantled or used for parts. This leaves approximately 224 aircraft still held by airlines; however, not all remain active. Thirty-four are permanently retired but not yet disposed of, while another 28 are stored long-term with little prospect of returning to service.
Emirates stands out as the largest operator of the type with 123 delivered units. According to its president Sir Tim Clark, "We have already taken impairment on those A380s, and eventually, over a period of time, we will then ground them again. Out of the ten [Qatar Airways], only eight are back in service. Two are on the ground, which we don't intend to use. It will be phased out as we receive airplanes over a couple of years' time." The Dubai-based carrier has already retired or scrapped seven older airframes and parked another 21 long-term at local airports.
Etihad Airways operates seven active A380s from an original order of ten and plans to reactivate more due to demand increases on key routes. Qatar Airways maintains eight active aircraft from its fleet of ten but intends to retire these as new deliveries arrive.
In Europe, Lufthansa originally had fourteen A380s but now flies only eight from Munich Airport on select intercontinental routes; five have been retired and one scrapped. British Airways continues operating all twelve A380s it received—one of few airlines with its full fleet still flying—and is currently retrofitting these jets for extended use.
Singapore Airlines once operated twenty-four A380s but has reduced this number significantly following pandemic-driven cutbacks; half were scrapped while nine remain active mainly on trunk routes between London and Sydney. Qantas keeps nine out of twelve operational but plans complete retirement by no later than 2032. Asiana Airlines flies all six delivered units though future operations may change due to merger activities with Korean Air—a carrier that has already parted out four out of ten original jets.
Other Asia-Pacific operators include All Nippon Airways (three active) and Korean Air (five active). Meanwhile, several former operators such as Air France—once owner of ten units—fully removed the model from their fleets before or during the pandemic period; six have been scrapped so far by Air France alone.
China Southern also retired its small fleet post-pandemic after being among few global airlines that continued operating through travel restrictions; Malaysia Airlines and Thai Airways similarly ended their use amid financial restructuring efforts prompted by COVID-19 disruptions.
One notable exception remains: F-WWOW—the very first prototype—is kept by Airbus at Toulouse-Blagnac Airport where it serves ongoing roles as both testbed (including recent trials using Sustainable Aviation Fuel) and display asset for public events.
As things stand today, about 227 Airbus A380s exist worldwide—with roughly 162 actively flying under commercial operators—a figure subject to regular fluctuation based on retirements or reactivations within individual fleets.
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