Emirates is to drop the Airbus A380 from three destinations in September. Meanwhile, according to schedule data, the airline will resume A380 flights to one destination. All in all, the airline has 563 Airbus A380 rotations planned for September, up just two rotations from the 561 planned this month.

While most Airbus A380s count the days passing in arid storage locations, one airline is going full steam ahead to return the type to service. Yesterday Simple Flying reported that the airline is planning to send its giant jets to all of its German destinations by the end of October, but it's not just Germany seeing the return of the A380.

Three A380 routes dropped in September

According to schedule information from aviation data experts Cirium, Emirates will downgrade the Airbus A380 to the Boeing 777 on flights to three cities as we move from August to September. These routes are,

  • Rome - 10 rotations in August
  • Madrid - 10 rotations in August
  • Zurich - 31 rotations in August

There is actually a fourth destination that saw an Airbus A380 service in August and won't in September. In August, the airline operated a one-off A380 flight to Tokyo Narita at the end of the Olympic Games, but seeing as this was a one-off instead of a regularly scheduled flight, it doesn't really count as a downgrade.

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Resuming A380 flights to one destination

In May, Simple Flying reported that the Emirates Airbus A380 returned to Manchester Airport in England. Unfortunately, with the UAE sitting on the UK red list, this upgrade was short-lived. Now, the A380 is set to return to Manchester for the second time this year.

Emirates, Airbus A380, September Routes
The Airbus A380 will return to Manchester for the second time this year. Photo: Airbus

According to the airline's schedule, 30 A380 rotations are planned to the UK's third busiest airport from September 1st, equating to one a day.

Many destinations are seeing a drop of one or two A380 rotations from August to September, but this is simply because they are daily services, and September has one day fewer. All in all, the airline's number of A380 rotations will climb by two in September, given increased frequencies on some key routes. The routes not already mentioned with significant month on month changes are as follows,

  • Amman (AMM) - 30 rotations in September (-32)
  • Moscow (DME) - 45 rotations in September (+14)
  • Jeddah (JED) - 30 rotations in September (+25)
  • New York (JFK) - 47 rotations in September (+7)
  • London (LHR) - 90 rotations in September (+19)
Emirates, Airbus A380, September Routes
Emirates' full A380 network for September. Photo: Cirium

Cairo and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport will maintain their double-daily frequency. Meanwhile, Frankfurt, Washington Dulles, Los Angeles, Munich, Vienna, and Toronto will maintain their daily Airbus A380 service. Mauritius will see an extra service this month, rising from seven in August to eight in September.

As the schedule currently stands, the change from September to October will be more exciting, with many new airports and frequencies added, while none are removed. As such, 727 A380 rotations are currently planned for October, up 164 from September's 536. Simple Flying will take a detailed look at Emirates' Airbus A380 plans for October nearer the time.

What do you make of Emirates' September schedule? Let us know what you think and why in the comments below!