After some 6.5 years in storage, Etihad Airways’ last remaining Airbus A380 is finally flying home. The jet, along with the rest of the sub-fleet of the type at the Abu Dhabi-based UAE flag carrier, was grounded in 2020 amid the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, with considerable uncertainty as to its flying future. While Etihad has already reactivated eight A380s, this one took a little longer to bring home.

Now that it is finally on its way to Etihad Airways’ main hub at Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH), the aircraft, which bears the registration A6-APB, is attracting considerable live attention from avgeeks on services such as Simple Flying’s flight tracker. For flyers, its return home means greater availability of premium seating, including ‘The Residence,’ a luxurious three-room first class apartment.

Back In The Air

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According to Flightradar24, A6-APB took off from Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport (LDE) in the southwest of France at 9:36 AM local time today. It had originally been set to depart from this facility, which has become synonymous with Airbus A380 storage in recent years on account of its long runway and ample space, at 9:00 AM. However, it has made good time, and is now set to arrive a bit early.

Indeed, its scheduled arrival back home in Abu Dhabi was planned for 6:30 PM local time this evening, but, at the time of writing, a 6:14 PM touchdown was projected. After leaving Tarbes, the double-decker widebody quadjet flew east along the south of France, before heading southeast over the Mediterranean, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. Commenting on the A380’s reactivation, Etihad said in 2022 that:

“The move follows a surge in demand for air travel across the airline’s network and customer feedback for the return of one of the most remarkable commercial flying experiences in the sky.”

Six Years Of Storage

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A6-APB’s flight from Tarbes back to Abu Dhabi brings a very long period of storage to an end for the jet. According to current fleet data made available by Planespotters.net, this aircraft first entered storage in March of 2020, as the airline industry entered a large-scale shutdown amid the spread of COVID-19. Initially, it was placed into storage at Abu Dhabi International Airport in the United Arab Emirates.

However, it only stayed there for a little under nine months. Indeed, after initially being grounded on March 23 of 2020, it then flew to Tarbes for longer-term storage on December 3 of that year as the severity of the global health crisis became clear. Until today, this had been its long-term residence, with Flightradar24 only showing two recent transponder activations (January 2024 and August 2026).

Still, as much as A6-APB had to wait the longest of any remaining Etihad A380 to be reactivated, one unit will never fly again. The carrier initially flew ten superjumbos, but A6-APB is the ninth and last to re-enter service due to the scrapping of A6-APA. This jet had been sent to Tarbes for storage on November 5 of 2020, but, rather than being reactivated, it was ultimately broken up and scrapped in July of 2025.

All About Etihad’s A380s

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The nine remaining examples of the Airbus A380 at Etihad Airways are 11 years old on average. With a fleet-wide mean figure of just 8.6 years old, the superjumbo is one of the carrier’s oldest passenger aircraft types, with only the Airbus A320-200 (14.4 years old on average) and the Boeing 777-300ER (15.5 years old on average) being more senior. Etihad’s A380s now have 496 seats on board.

According to aeroLOPA, they were configured with 486 in 2015, but an extra ten were added this year. The bottom deck consists entirely of economy seats, while the top deck houses 70 business and 11 first class passengers. In the latter cabin, two of these guests are housed in ‘The Residence,’ a private three-room apartment that features a twin-occupancy sofa, a bathroom with a shower, and even a double bed.