Emirates has confirmed that it’ll fly the Airbus A380 from Dubai International Airport (DXB) to Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL). The Gulf giant had previously only flown the type there on one occasion in July 2010. Now it’ll be used regularly for the first time.

DEL will now have A380 flights by three carriers: Emirates, Lufthansa, and Singapore Airlines. This is a notable development, as it’s one more operator than the previous high. With a record three daily superjumbo services, DEL will become India’s leading airport for the type’s activity.

Emirates’ A380s Are Coming To DEL

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Based on IATA slot seasons, northern carriers, including Emirates, will switch to winter schedules on October 25. On that day, the United Arab Emirates’ largest carrier will deploy the double-decker to DEL for the first time on a regular basis. The only other time was July 15, 2010, nearly exactly 16 years ago, to celebrate the opening of the then-new terminal.

While a four-class configuration will be flown to DEL, it is not yet known how many seats will be available. Emirates has four-class A380s with the number of seats ranging from 468 to 487. It’ll replace the four-class Boeing 777-300ER. The upgauge will mean significantly more capacity at a peak time of the day based on connectivity in DXB. Considerably more seats in first, business, premium economy, and economy will be available for the specific service on which the A380 will operate.

Emirates’ A380s Will Now Be Seen In Three Indian Airports

Ignoring the one-off flight to DEL in 2010, the carrier’s superjumbos have been used to India since 2014. Between then and 2020, only Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (BOM) saw the type. Flights to Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru (BLR) came online in 2022, while it’s now the turn of DEL.

Emirates will be the only airline to have flown the A380 to three Indian airports. Etihad Airways previously deployed the type to BOM (regular flights existed until 2017; briefly used in 2024-2025). Lufthansa continues to fly it to DEL and to BOM (until October 2026). Singapore Airlines’ frames are also still seen in DEL and BOM.

Emirates’ full A380 schedule to India in November is shown below. The type will leave DXB and arrive back home at roughly the same time. This is to provide considerable additional capacity during very busy periods. For example, many of Emirates’ flights to North America leave DXB between 8 AM and 10 AM and get back to the Middle East roughly between 7 PM and 8 PM the next day.

From approximately 8 AM to 10 AM, more Emirates flights leave for Europe than at any other time. In November, flights from eight European airports will arrive back in DXB in the mid-evening. While that is considerably quieter than during the airline’s main arrival banks, it doesn’t matter, given the amount of inbound services from across North America, Africa, and the Middle East.

Where Emirates’ DEL Passengers Go

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Booking data for the 12 months to April 2026 shows that nearly 590,000 DEL passengers (1,600+ daily) transited to another Emirates flight in DXB. The source shows that approximately 44% of passengers flew to/from Europe. North America was next (29%), and then Africa (12%) and the Middle East (12%). The remaining passengers traveled to/from Latin America and Australasia.

The US was the top country market, followed by the UK, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Germany, South Africa, Spain, France, and Switzerland. At the city level, London ranked number one, followed by Toronto, San Francisco, New York, Milan, Seattle, Los Angeles, Paris, Manchester, and Johannesburg. With half of the top ten cities being in North America, it is no wonder that A380 flights will have the aforementioned schedule.