The Airbus A380 is the largest passenger aircraft in the sky. Before the COVID-19 Pandemic, many of the world’s largest airlines operated this type. In recent years, the aircraft’s popularity has declined, as more airlines look for smaller, more fuel-efficient options. Melbourne Airport(MEL) in Australia is a fair representation of this, with the Victorian airport losing six of its previous A380 operators.

At present, just two airlines operate the A380 to Melbourne: Emirates, the world’s largest operator of the double-decker, and Qantas. However, starting in October, the Australian flag carrier will cease A380 operations at MEL, adjusting its non-stop service to Los Angeles to the Boeing 787.

The Heyday of the Airbus A380 Is Over

Credit: Flickr

During its peak, Melbourne Airport had a total of eight airlines flying the A380 to the country’s second busiest airport; however, this has dwindled down to just two airlines, with one about to suspend its operations. In September 2017, the airport saw its peak A380 operations with nine departures across the day, operated by Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, and Etihad Airways.

Credit: GCMap

Pictured in the map above is a snapshot of some of the A380 operations that once operated to and from Melbourne Airport (albeit a one-off MEL-LAX-JFK, which wouldn’t fit on the map). Post October, when Qantas retires its A380 operations at Melbourne, Emirates will remain the sole operator of the type to and from this Victorian airport. Here’s a list of routes operated with the type from MEL according to Cirium, an online aviation analytics company:

The Busiest Day For A380 Operations At Melbourne

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On September 25, 2017, Melbourne recorded its busiest day for A380 operations in history, when nine A380 flights arrived and departed from MEL. This was the highest number ever in one single calendar day, and has never been repeated. These flights served major airports around the globe, including Dubai International Airport (DXB), Singapore Changi Airport (SIN), Auckland Airport (AKL), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Doha Hamad International Airport (DOH) and Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH).

Across that day, the largest operator was Emirates, with four operations served by this Dubai-based airline’s double-decker. While the airline no longer operates this frequency of A380 to Melbourne, it continues to be the world’s largest operator of the type. On this day, routes such as Emirates’ non-stop service to Auckland, which was the only short-haul A380 service from Auckland, no longer exist.

While all the above airlines still operate the Airbus A380, their operations to Melbourne have changed. Airlines like Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, and Etihad have shifted to more economical aircraft, such as the Airbus A350, Boeing 787, or Boeing 777, to better match seasonal passenger demand.

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A Snapshot Of Melbourne Airport’s International Operations

Credit: Flickr

Melbourne Airport remains the second busiest in Oceania after Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD). The airport in recent years has seen an explosion of international services, with Finnair the latest to announce operations to the airport from Helsinki via Bangkok, commencing on October 26 later this year.

A total number of 45 airlines will operate to MEL in 2026 (including Qantas and its subsidiary QantasLink), serving a total of 41 international and 32 domestic destinations. Popular international routes include Auckland, Dubai, Singapore, Doha, Istanbul, and San Francisco, while domestic services to Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide also remain popular.

Later this year, not only will Finnair grace the MEL apron, but also Indonesia AirAsia (non-stop to Bali from March 21), and Jetstar will take off to Bandaranaike International Colombo Airport (CMB) from August 25. SriLankan Airlines also announced it will add additional flights to its popular Colombo to Melbourne route, boosting it from daily to ten weekly, providing that while the A380 has been shelved, theres still plenty of opportunity at Melbourne with smaller aircraft.