Airbus Delivers Last A380 Superjumbo to Emirates in Hamburg

Hamburg — Emirates took delivery of the last remaining Airbus A380 in Hamburg on Thursday, the Gulf airline said.

In total, Airbus has produced 251 aircraft of this type since the A380 programme started 21 years ago and delivered them to 14 airlines.

Emirates is by far the most important A380 customer, having purchased 123 of the aircraft.

Unlike the commercial launch of the carrier, the delivery took place without much spectacle. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, guests were excluded from the handover at the factory site in the Finkenwerder district of the northern German city.

Emirates chief executive Tim Clark spoke of a "very special aircraft" that had opened up the possibility of efficiently meeting demand at airports with limited slots, according to the statement.

With Emirates having already retired five aircraft, the airline's fleet currently comprises 118 A380s.

Airbus chief Guillaume Faury thanked Emirates for its unwavering confidence in the aircraft.

Faury's predecessor Tom Enders had announced the early end of production of the world's largest passenger jet in 2019 due to a lack of orders.

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