For the Airbus A380, also popularly known as the Superjumbo, the clock is slowly but surely ticking. The European aircraft manufacturer handed over machine number 120 to Emirates on Friday, but only three A380s are still to be delivered. Then the production of this pattern ends, probably forever.

With the "Superjumbo", Airbus trumped its US rival Boeing, because it took the largest passenger aircraft of all time into the air. This was designed for the hub-and-spoke concept, but apart from Emirates and a few other carriers, most operators have become unhappy in recent years.

Apart from the corona pandemic, there were also changes in customer behavior. Flights with transfers are also becoming increasingly unpopular on long-haul routes, because non-stop - often incorrectly called "direct" - is the trend. With the A321LR / XLR models, Airbus is even bringing inexpensive models onto the market that are explicitly intended for decentralized point-to-point traffic. This means that there are no feeder flights and there are fewer passengers for the Airbus A380.

For a few years now, Airbus has only been able to land scanty new orders for the superjumbo and announced the end some time ago. Now only three Airbus A320s destined for Emirates are waiting for delivery. These are to be handed over to the golf carrier in January, March and May 2022. After that, the production of this pattern will be stopped - presumably forever.