Around a third of the global Airbus A380 fleet has been reactivated since the type was almost entirely grounded at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The return of the jet, tied with 747 retirements, means there are now more Active A380s than the passenger version of the Queen of the Skies.

At the height of the first wave of COVID-19, it seemed questionable as to whether many Airbus A380s beyond the Emirates fleet would return to the skies. We now know that we needn't have worried. To date, around a third of the fleet has returned, primarily driven by Emirates.

Which A380s are active?

The list of airlines flying the Airbus A380 seems to be growing each month. It currently sits at seven airlines, with the following flying the giant of the skies,

  • British Airways
  • China Southern
  • Emirates
  • Korean Airways
  • Qantas
  • Qatar Airways
  • Singapore Airlines

Combined, the airlines above have reactivated 79 aircraft from the Airbus A380 family. While 254 A380s have been built, eight of these have been recorded as scrapped, according to data from ch-aviation.com. Excluding the scrapped aircraft, around 33% of the fleet is now flying for an airline. By comparison, just 59 passenger Boeing 747s are currently listed as active.

Stay informed: Sign up for our daily and weekly aviation news digests.

Emirates leading the way

There's no doubt that Emirates is leading the way. The airline owns around half of the Airbus A380 aircraft built to date. Currently, the airline's fleet sits at 121, with two planes confirmed as retired. The proportion of Emirates A380 aircraft flying is far higher than the average across the industry. 60 have returned to the skies, meaning that just 61 remain grounded for the time being.

Emirates, Airbus A380, Return
The final delivery will mark the end of an era for new passenger quad jets. Photo: Getty Images

Emirates won't be rushing to get rid of the giant of the skies for a long time. The airline is in a unique position in the industry where it can't afford to. Its entire Boeing 777 fleet is in active operation, meaning that it would be forced to fly the A380 or operate a far smaller network. Emirates is expected to fly the A380 into the mid-2030s. After all, Airbus delivered its youngest jets just last month.

What about the other carriers?

The outlook on the A380 seems to be drastically different depending on which carrier you look at. Only two have definitively ended their A380 programs. These are Air France and Hi Fly. Other airlines seem incredibly unlikely to fly the jet again, such as Etihad, Lufthansa, Malaysia Airlines, and Thai Airways.

While Qatar Airways is currently flying the giant of the skies, it has made it clear that it doesn't want to in the long term. All of the other carriers presently flying the jet worldwide don't seem to have any reservations about it.

Were you aware that so many A380s had returned to the skies? Let us know what you think and why in the comments!