By Youssef Yahya 
Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has announced plans to reintroduce four of its Airbus A380 aircraft in the summer of 2023, supplemented by five extra A320 aircraft.
In November 2020, Etihad’s A380 aircraft were grounded as part of a lean approach to deal with issues brought on by the pandemic. This step comes to satisfy the anticipated increase in demand for air travel during the busy summer months.
The airline announced earlier this month that the superjumbo aircraft are set to operate to London Heathrow, one of the carrier’s significant destinations throughout its global network, to free up capacity for higher frequency on existing flights and introduce new destinations.
Airbus A380s in 2022
During the pandemic, when asked whether the Airbus A380 would fly again, Etihad’s CEO at that time, Tony Douglas, said, “never say never.” As a result, there were suspicions that the aircraft would eventually return to the skies again. Earlier this month, when Etihad released this announcement, it was the tenth airline to return the world’s largest commercial aircraft into the skies.
Read also: Lufthansa Takes The First Airbus A380 Out Of Storage
The world’s largest commercial aircraft made a strong comeback in 2022 as market demand rose and the global aviation sector recovered gradually. During the pandemic, many airlines around the world followed suit, grounding their A380 fleets in an effort to reduce operating costs and weather the mounting financial losses.
Booking Etihad Airbus A380 flights to London Heathrow is now available!
The Airbus A380 will resume long-haul service on July 15th, 2023, according to an update to Etihad’s flight schedules.
| Flight Number | Dep Airport | Dep Time | Arriving Airport | Arriving Time | Flight Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EY 11 | Abu Dhabi (AUH) | 02:05 | London Heathrow (LHR) | 06:45 | 07h40m |
| EY 12 | London Heathrow (LHR) | 09:30 | Abu Dhabi (AUH) | 19:40 | 07h10m |
The operations of EY 11 and 12 will continue until July. They will be joined in August by a second rotation that will operate as follows:
| Flight Number | Dep Airport | Dep Time | Arr Airport | Arr Time | Flight Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EY 19 | Abu Dhabi (AUH) | 08:30 | London Heathrow (LHR) | 13:05 | 07h35m |
| EY 20 | London Heathrow (LHR) | 14:50 | Abu Dhabi (AUH) | 00:55+1 | 07h05m |
Sources:
- aviationbusinessme
- Simple Flying
- Featured Image: Gary Oragano
Youssef Yahya is the CEO and Founder of Aviation for Aviators, a platform dedicated to the aviation industry. With over 3 years of experience as an aviation writer, Youssef is passionate about sharing his insights on aviation, entrepreneurship, and the broader business landscape. As a Teaching Assistant in Entrepreneurship at Nile University, he also nurtures the next generation of entrepreneurs. When he’s not exploring the skies or business ventures, you can find him saying, ‘Drag your coffee, and let’s talk aviation, entrepreneurship, and football.’
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Mohammed Rizwan