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Emirates wasn't expecting to use the A380 to Munich in August. About two months ago, it removed the double-decker quadjet, with a 1x daily service resuming in September and 2x daily from October 30th.

According to Emirates' latest schedule upload, the A380 will now return later this month. It means that Düsseldorf, Hamburg, and Munich will see the type in August. Only Frankfurt won't, with its return still down for October 30th. It comes as the airline returns to London Stansted and adds more flights to Mauritius.

What's happening?

Emirates will use the A380 on its Munich route from August 18th, instead of September 1st expected last week. It's now bookable. It'll operate 1x daily, replacing the B777-300ER. The Middle East giant serves Munich 12x weekly this month, with 2x daily from September. The schedule is as follows, with all times local:

• Dubai to Munich: EK49, 08:50-13:15; 1x daily A380 from August 18th
• Dubai to Munich: EK51, 16:30-20:50; 5x weekly B777-300ER
• Munich to Dubai: EK50, 15:40-23:45; 1x daily A380
• Munich to Dubai: EK52, 22:35-06:30+1; 5x weekly B777-300ER

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Emirates to Munich: a summary

Emirates has served the 2,839-mile (4,568km) route for 23 years. It began in November 1999 using the A310-300. While flights increased to 2x daily reasonably quickly, it took until February 2016 to become 3x daily.

Analyzing schedules using Cirium data shows that the A310 was replaced by the A330-200, which operated for years until October 2011. Munich also frequently saw the A340-300 (June 2006-March 2012) and non-ER B777-300 (December 2009-October 2013).

Of course, the B777-300ER has been, and remains, fundamental. In contrast, the B777-200ER, B777-200LR, and A340-500 were used only occasionally; in the case of the A340-500, just four times.

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The A380 to Munich

The A380 appeared in November 2011, a month when only London Heathrow, Manchester, and Paris CDG saw the double-decker in Europe. A380 service to Frankfurt happened in September 2014, Düsseldorf in July 2015, and Hamburg in October 2018. Munich was therefore one of Emirates' very early European A380 destinations. It initially ran 1x daily, doubling in 2014.

Having last operated on June 30th this year, the A380 was pulled until September. But now it's returning. It'll operate 1x daily until October 29th, the last day of the North Hemisphere summer season, after which airlines shift to winter schedules. From October 30th, it'll revert to 2x daily A380, with the B777-300ER no longer used. Unless, of course, things change again.

Emirates' Munich passengers

In 2019, Emirates had 3x daily flights to Munich. (There's currently no indication if, or when, it'll return to 3x daily.) Generally speaking, the A380 ran 2x daily and the B777-300ER 1x, although it did vary. That year, Emirates had 964,414 Munich seats for sale, meaning it was the carrier's seventh most-served European route.

Booking data shows that over 40% of Munich passengers were point-to-point; they only flew to/from Dubai. Obviously, the vast amount of the rest transited Emirates' Dubai hub. India was the top country market, followed by Thailand, the Maldives, Australia, and Mauritius. At airport level, Munich-Malé, via Dubai, was number one, followed by Munich-Bangkok, Mauritius, Colombo, and Phuket.

Have you flown Emirates to/from Munich? If so, share your experiences in the comments.