Qatar Airways continues to make substantial changes to its Airbus A380 network. In the airline’s latest schedule update to Cirium Diio over the weekend, the superjumbo will no longer operate upcoming flights from Doha Hamad International Airport (DOH) to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN).

Some might wonder how this change is notable, but it is, both in itself and in relation to other alterations. As revealed last week, Qatar Airways has also removed all future double-decker quadjet services from DOH to both Singapore and Sydney. It’ll now have no A380 flights to Australia at all. When writing, the carrier plans 54% fewer A380 flights in November 2026 than in the same month last year.

Qatar Airways Removes All A380 Flights To CAN

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With more than 18 million people, Guangzhou’s metro area is enormous. When other cities in the Pearl River Delta are included, it is the world’s largest area by population. The economy is fast-growing, which obviously helps to attract airlines.

Qatar Airways has had passenger flights to CAN since 2008, although the A380 did not appear until 2016. The type operated through early 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to stop. Until the latest schedule update, the plan was for the SkyTeam airline’s superjumbos to return to CAN on October 25, when northern carriers switch to winter schedules based on IATA slot seasons.

The Gulf giant was to serve CAN daily on the 517-seat double-decker, with the following schedule. The route to China will still be served, just on the smaller, 412-seat Boeing 777-300ER. The Boeing variant is being deployed during the summer, too.

While it only has 105 fewer seats than the A380, it is far less premium. With no first class, just 6% of the Triple Seven’s capacity is premium. In contrast, it is 11% for the A380. Note that China Southern operates DOH-CAN on the 787-8 and 787-9 in close partnership with Qatar Airways. Emirates continues to use the A380 from Dubai to CAN.

Where Will Qatar Airways’ A380s Fly In The Upcoming Winter?

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Some context is important. Due to the war in Iran, all of Qatar Airways’ eight superjumbos were grounded between mid-April and mid-June 2026. Half of the subfleet has since returned to the air. On June 16, the type was once again deployed to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) and London Heathrow (LHR), followed by Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport (CDG) on June 29, when this article was written.

Things are changing rapidly for the upcoming winter, which will run between October 25, 2026, and March 27, 2027. The latest information shows that only three A380 routes will operate: DOH to BKK (initially daily, but two daily flights from December 1), CDG (daily), and LHR (daily).

The type has been removed from CAN (daily), Singapore Changi Airport (SIN; daily), and Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD; daily). It is unclear if any or all of these destinations will see the superjumbo again. It is also unclear what Qatar Airways’ A380 plans are. Will it continue to fly only four A380s, or will the others (which are currently parked in DOH) return to service? In late 2025, it was suggested that half of the subfleet would be retired. The airline has been contacted for comment.

The latest schedule sees 90 A380 departures from DOH in November. In the same month last year, 194 were available. That was when the type was deployed to BKK (three to four daily), CDG (daily), LHR (daily), and SYD (daily). 54% fewer services are currently planned. Expect more changes soon.

Where Qatar Airways’ CAN Passengers Go

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Booking data for the 12 months to April 2026, when the 777-300ER was deployed, has been explored. This highlights that more than 240,000 passengers flying to/from CAN connected to another Qatar Airways flight in DOH. Nearly six in ten passengers flew to/from Africa.

Guangzhou is the main city in China for Africans, while many Chinese fly from there to the vast continent. This is why so many African carriers, including Air Algérie, Air Tanzania, EgyptAir, Ethiopian Airlines, Kenya Airways, and TAAG Angola, fly there. China Southern, which is the main airline in CAN, also flies to Africa. Africa is primarily why Emirates, and other Gulf airlines, fly to CAN. Etihad Airways will join them next year, but will probably suffer due to its very small African footprint.

Analysis of Qatar Airways’ booking data shows that more people flew CAN-DOH-Algers than anywhere else. Entebbe was next, followed by Lagos, São Paulo, Amman, Casablanca, Istanbul, Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, and Johannesburg.