Written off as an over-sized anachronism when COVID-19 upended aviation, the world¡¯s largest passenger plane is enjoying an unlikely revival to handle an overwhelming rebound in air travel.
Many airlines struggled to see a future for their enormous Airbus SE A380s when the pandemic grounded fleets in early 2020. Qantas Airways parked its 12 double-deckers in the Californian desert, saying they wouldn¡¯t be needed for at least three years, while Etihad Airways said it¡¯s not clear if its 10 superjumbos will ever fly again.
But this year¡¯s sudden travel recovery has given the cavernous jets ¡ª often seating more than 500 people ¡ª a new lease of life. They have become the long-range jumbo of choice for airlines from the U.K. to the Gulf and Australia as passenger volumes stretch aviation workforces that were depleted during the crisis.
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