Emirates’ Airbus A380 airliner that arrived at Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture from Dubai is seen on June 14, 2024. (Mainichi/Tadakazu Nakamura)


IZUMISANO, Osaka — Regular flights of the world’s largest airliner, the Airbus A380, have resumed at Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture after a hiatus of about four years, with the U.A.E.-based airline Emirates flying between Kansai and Dubai.


Emirates resumed flights of the superjumbo at Kansai International Airport on June 1, with daily round trips between Kansai and Dubai International Airport. Airlines had paused flights of A380s to Kansai as passenger numbers plummeted amid the coronavirus pandemic.


The A380 has full-length double-deck, with a length of 72 meters, a wingspan of 79 meters and height of 24 meters. Emirates’ A380 has 484 seats, 130 more than the Boeing 777. Satish Sethi, Emirates’ country manager for Japan, said that there is strong demand for the Kansai-Dubai route and that Osaka is attractive because of its proximity to Kyoto and other tourist destinations. He said the company has increased choices for passengers by introducing the newest A380 equipped with 56 premium economy class seats, between business and economy class, on June 11.

Emirates’ business class seat, which reclines into a flat bed, is seen at Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture on June 18, 2024. (Mainichi/Tadakazu Nakamura)


According to Kansai Airports, operator of Kansai International Airport, Thai Airways International PLC and Emirates had halted their A380 services to Kansai in February 2020 and March 2020, respectively. Hayato Shingu, deputy chief commercial officer of Kansai Airports, commented, “We are pleased to welcome the A380 back once again.”


Apart from regular flights, Asiana Airlines Inc. flew the A380 on its Seoul flights for two days during Japan’s Golden Week holiday period in May this year, and it plans to operate the aircraft for four days in September.


(Japanese original by Tadakazu Nakamura, Izumisano Resident Bureau)

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