Qantas has returned its last grounded Airbus A380 to service nearly six years after it entered storage. The aircraft (registration: VH-OQC) — named ‘Paul McGinness’ after one of the airline’s founders — will initially serve as an operational spare until its deployment on the airline’s Sydney-Dallas/Fort Worth route next year.

Getting VH-OQC back in the air was a huge effort, requiring more than 100,000 hours of work in what goes down as the most extensive maintenance check in Qantas’ 105-year history. The Australian carrier now has all ten remaining A380s back in service after progressively returning its double deckers to duty over the past four years.

Qantas Brings Back Final A380 From Storage

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Qantas will soon be reintroducing its last remaining A380 to service as it completes the full reactivation of its A380 fleet. Data from Flightradar24 shows VH-OQC landed in Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD) on Friday morning, touching down on Australian soil for the first time in almost 2,000 days.

The aircraft was grounded in early 2020 during the onset of the COVID pandemic, initially spending almost a year at Victorville Airport (VCV) before entering long-term storage in Abu Dhabi (AUH). Delivered to Qantas in December 2008 as its third A380, VH-OQC is powered by four Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines and has over 50,000 flight hours and 4,400 flight cycles under its belt, as per ch-aviation data.

Qantas CEO Cam Wallace commented,

“We know our customers love our A380 aircraft and last year our superjumbo fleet carried over 1 million people on our international network. The return of our final A380 means we can offer even more seats on popular long-haul routes to destinations like Dallas, Singapore and Johannesburg.”

A Long And Arduous Road

Credit: Qantas

Getting VH-OQC back into service required a monumental engineering effort due to the A380’s unique requirements, ultimately requiring over 100,000 hours of maintenance work. This included heavy maintenance and landing gear replacement, alongside its full cabin retrofit. Spending almost six years out of service, Qantas heralds VH-OQC’s return as the largest maintenance check it has ever performed.

It has been more than four years since the first grounded Qantas A380 returned to Sydney from long-term storage in the Californian desert, becoming the first of ten A380s to gradually make their return to the Qantas fleet. The carrier initially had a fleet of 12 A380 aircraft, but has only reactivated ten after stripping two airframes — VH-OQE and VH-OQF — for parts. As the Airbus A380 went out of production in 2021, components from these two aircraft will have proven vital in helping Qantas get its remaining fleet back in the air.

All A380s have also undergone a significant cabin refurbishment to offer the latest Qantas interiors, including an enhanced upper-deck lounge. Featuring four cabin classes, the aircraft can seat 14 in first, 70 in business, 60 in premium economy, and 341 in economy, with Qantas adding more business and premium economy seats compared to the previous configuration.

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What’s Next For VH-OQC?

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The aircraft will first perform the role of an operational spare until the end of the year, giving Qantas another A380 to use across its busy network over the Christmas travel rush. From January 2026, Qantas says the extra aircraft will allow it to fly the A380 daily on its Sydney-Dallas/Fort Worth route.

Interestingly, Sydney-Dallas/Fort Worth is currently the world’s longest A380 route by block time, with the return leg from Dallas clocking in at 17 hours and 25 minutes. Qantas flies its A380s to a handful of other destinations, including Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles and Singapore.

As for Qantas’ A380 fleet, there are still many years of active service ahead, with the carrier planning to fly its A380s into the next decade. Under its current timeline, the carrier will begin gradually retiring the widebody from its fleet starting in 2032.