Emirates Airbus A380 A6-EDB was spotted in an all-white livery at Dubai International Airport.
The aircraft joined the airline fleet on October 24, 2008, six months after its first test flight. According to reports the aircraft hadn’t performed a revenue flight in four months.
A6-EDB made its last commercial flight on February 23 from Muscat International Airport in Muscat, Oman, to Dubai before being stored at Dubai World Central International Airport on February 28.
Emirates is by far the world’s largest operator of the Airbus A380. The airline has 114 A380s, with a further eight of the super jumbos on order. The second in that list, Singapore Airlines, has only 19 planes, and the third, Lufthansa, has 14 units and are being taken out of service.
The retirement of A6-EDB has very little to do with the current pandemic. The airline was already planning to retire approximately 30 A380s around the middle of the decade, with more exits afterwards.
However, a Forbes report stated that with post-COVID recovery not expected until 2023, it may become necessary for the airline to accelerate the fleet plan and retire 46 A380s, which it may have done by 2027/2028.
The report further said that the figure of 46 A380s retirements cited in multiple reports is understood to be preliminary. Discussions started around 50 A380s and this was refined to an initial 46 aircraft.
“You’ll start seeing A380s coming out of our fleet for various reasons, and we’ve always said this,” said Emirates Airline President Tim Clark last year. “These are being dealt with on a tail-by-tail, month-by-month basis under a retirement [schedule] that is well planned already.”
“We are in the process of [starting A380 retirements],” he said at the time. “Two have been deactivated. They are under retirement because we’ve got a major overhaul coming up and it’s best to take the old aircraft out – they’re all written down – and take the gear off them rather than buy a $25 million main landing gear. I need two, possibly three, to meet that [overhaul] requirement.”
“You’ll start seeing A380s coming out of our fleet for various reasons, and we’ve always said this,” said Emirates Airline President Tim Clark last year. “These are being dealt with on a tail-by-tail, month-by-month basis under a retirement [schedule] that is well planned already.”
“We are in the process of [starting A380 retirements],” he said at the time. “Two have been deactivated. They are under retirement because we’ve got a major overhaul coming up and it’s best to take the old aircraft out – they’re all written down – and take the gear off them rather than buy a $25 million main landing gear. I need two, possibly three, to meet that [overhaul] requirement.”
“You’ll start seeing A380s coming out of our fleet for various reasons, and we’ve always said this,” said Emirates Airline President Tim Clark last year. “These are being dealt with on a tail-by-tail, month-by-month basis under a retirement [schedule] that is well planned already.”
“We are in the process of [starting A380 retirements],” he said at the time. “Two have been deactivated. They are under retirement because we’ve got a major overhaul coming up and it’s best to take the old aircraft out – they’re all written down – and take the gear off them rather than buy a $25 million main landing gear. I need two, possibly three, to meet that [overhaul] requirement.”
Terma has received a purchase order from the Danish Ministry of Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation (DALO) concerning system integration…
Iran has not used a hypersonic missile in its recent attack on Israel, but but Israel has accelerated its efforts…
Toyota Motor Corporation is set to invest an additional $500 million in Joby Aviation, a company focused on developing electric…
LATAM Airlines Group is set to retrofit four more Boeing 777 aircraft with AeroSHARK, a surface film technology designed to…
Boeing successfully completed the first flight of the AH-6 Little Bird light attack helicopter for the Royal Thai Army (RTA)…
At the recent MRO Asia Pacific event in Singapore, HAECO and Boeing signed a new deal to cover spares and…
ST Engineering's Commercial Aerospace business has secured a 15-year exclusive MRO contract with Akasa Air, India’s fastest growing airline, to…
BBN Airlines Indonesia, a new entrant in the country’s aviation sector, has officially commenced operations after receiving its Air Operation…
The French defence procurement agency (DGA) has selected Exail to develop an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) capable of operating at…
Regional Air Mobility company Lilium has completed the first systems power-on milestone of its all-electric Lilium Jet. The successful test…
Embraer has signed an Industrial Cooperation Agreement (ICA) with the Czech Ministry of Defense (MOD). The strategic agreement aimsto enhance…
Plaza Premium Group (PPG), a provider of airport hospitality services, has opened its Plaza Premium First lounge at Macau International…
HENSOLDT, a sensor solution provider, has partnered with DFS, the German air navigation service provider, to advance the use of…
The continued clashes between Israel and the Houthi rebels in Yemen signal that the Suez Canal and the Red sea…
Pratt & Whitney, an RTX business, has officially opened a new 845,000-square-foot facility in Oklahoma City, marking the company’s largest…
Cebu Pacific, a low-cost carrier based in the Philippines, has finalised a firm order with Airbus for 70 A321neo aircraft,…
In view of the growing tension between Israel and some of the Iranian proxies in the region, the Israeli ministry…
The Indo Defence, Indo Aerospace, and Indo Marine 2024 Expo & Forum, which was originally set to take place from…
The Franco-German defence group KNDS, a key partner of the Ukrainian land forces, has established a subsidiary in Kyiv. The…
Deutsche Aircraft has announced a partnership with Weerts Group for the construction of its Final Assembly Line (FAL) at Leipzig/Halle…
Savunma Teknolojileri Mühendislik ve Ticaret A.Ş. (STM) and Bahçeşehir University (BAU) are set to develop ocean sensing systems aimed at…
Naval Group has formalised a contract to deliver four Barracuda Family expeditionary submarines to the Netherlands, as announced during a…
Challenge Group has announced the expansion of its operations in India by introducing two weekly flights to Delhi, commencing on…
ECS Group’s subsidiary, AVS GSA, in partnership with Thai Vietjet and Lactasoy, has launched an initiative to assist flood-affected communities…
Liebherr-Aerospace and Egyptair Maintenance & Engineering have signed a three-year contract for the maintenance of heat transfer equipment on Airbus…
Rheinmetall, a German technology group, and US-based Honeywell have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore strategic cooperation on…
SATS Ltd has signed a three-year agreement with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to expand the implementation of DG…
Semi Conductor Devices (SCD) has launched the Sparrow HD, a mid-wave infrared (MWIR) sensor module aimed at improving detection and…
As global air traffic demand exceeds pre-pandemic levels in 2024, airlines are turning their attention to fleet expansion, according to…
In recent months, the Houthi rebels in Yemen, an Iranian proxy, managed to shoot down a number of U.S-made MQ-9…
Headquartered in Singapore with reporters spread across all major regions, GBP Aerospace & Defence is a leading media house that publishes three publications that serve the aerospace and defence sector - Asian Defence Technology, Asian Airlines & Aerospace and Daily News. Known industry-wide for quality journalism, GBP Aerospace & Defence is present at more international tradeshows and exhibitions than any other competing publication in the region.
For over three decades, our award-winning team of reporters has been producing top-notch content to help readers stay abreast of the latest developements in the field of commercial aviation, MRO, defence, and Space.
Copyright 2024. GBP. All Rights Reserved.
Home Defence & Security Space Commercial Aviation Maintence Repair & Overhaul Daily News Events About Us
2024 GBP all rights reserved.