Eight airlines are flying the Airbus A380 during January 2023. Over the past year, London Heathrow has hosted the most A380 operators. Now Sydney Airport has joined London Heathrow in the top spot, with each airport welcoming the giant of the skies from five carriers.

Between 2016 and 2019, London Heathrow Airport and Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport welcomed Airbus A380s from nine operators. Both will likely never reach this number again. But, with five airlines each, they both sit at the top of the A380 diversity leaderboard, according to schedule data from Cirium.

5 Airbus A380 airlines in May

This month, London Heathrow Airport and Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport will welcome five Airbus A380 operators. London Heathrow is the home of British Airways, and Sydney is home to Australian flag carrier Qantas. While British Airways has reclaimed its title of A380 king at Heathrow from Emirates, Qantas is only the second largest A380 operator in Sydney.

According to schedule data from Cirium, British Airways has 247 services planned to London Heathrow this month. With a six-daily frequency on the Dubai International - London Heathrow route, Emirates sits below this with 186 services. Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines have a twice-daily service planned with 62 flights, while Qantas has 31 rotations on its Sydney-Singapore-London kangaroo route. This makes London Heathrow the second busiest A380 airport behind Dubai, with 588 planned rotations. With Etihad's (re)arrival planned for later this year, Heathrow should soon edge ahead.

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

Sydney has far fewer total rotations planned at 188 for the month but maintains the same variety of carriers. Emirates has a double daily schedule, with Qantas falling slightly short of this, planning 56 departures across the month. Qatar and Singapore each operate a daily flight, while Asiana Airlines has eight rotations planned across the month.

Which airports have four operators?

Two airports are welcoming four A380 operators this month, and one of them is a home base for A380s that haven't flown since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. While Heathrow and Sydney share four of their five A380 carriers, Bangkok and Los Angeles only share two. Bangkok seems the place to be as the fourth busiest A380 airport with 300 rotations. Meanwhile, Los Angeles is welcoming just a third of that with 105 rotations.

Three airports with three operators

Three airports welcome Airbus A380s from three operators. Two of these are Airbus A380 bases, and unlike Sydney, the three home carriers dominate operations at these airports. The complete list is as follows,

What about airports with two operators?

Further highlighting the return of the Airbus A380 is the number of airports welcoming the type from two operators. Over a year ago, Dubai was the only airport served by two airlines' A380s. Now, the number of airports meeting this criterion has risen to ten. Despite being home to the largest Airbus A380 operator, Dubai has struggled to break out of the two-operator clan, with British Airways the only other A380 operator at the airport.

Photo: Captured Blinks | Shutterstock

In total, 46 airports will welcome the Airbus A380 this month. Shanghai, in the list above, is a fascinating case. The airport has just eight services this month (3x Emirates, 5x Singapore Airlines), making it the joint quietest airport alongside Orlando (8x British Airways). However, as it has the two carriers, it outranks major airports such as Charles De Gaule and London Gatwick. Though these both have three Airbus A380 flights a day, only Emirates serves them with the giant of the skies.

Will you be flying or have flown on an Airbus A380 this month? Let us know where in the comments below by clicking the blue button.