Retired Emirates A380 sold off at auction as bidders hunt iconic items

One of the most luxurious A380s to grace Australia might’ve retired from the skies but the iconic plane is getting a second lease on life.

Emirates might’ve retired its first ever A30 to grace the skies of Australia, but there’s still a way to own part of the iconic plane.

The superjumbo, which first took to the skies as A6-EDA in 2008, is currently being dismantled at Dubai World Central Airport, with the process being documented on social media.

Emirates’ Chief Commercial Officer Adel Al Redha took to Instagram to post photos of the massive process, with the airline promising to recycle most of the plane.

Falcon Aircraft Recycling, in charge of the dismantling process, will repurpose much of the superjumbo with some of the plane’s most iconic pieces being sold in a few months.

The on-board bar, which could be accessed by business and first class passengers on the A380, will be turned into a bespoke furniture item and can be bidded on at an auction, scheduled for early next year.

Part of the proceeds from the auction will go to charity, the airline’s president Sir Tim Clark said.

Falcon Aircraft Recycling is in the middle of recycling and repurposing close to 200 tonnes of metal, plastic and carbon fibre from the plane.

“Our customers and fans can take home a piece of aviation history while saving valuable materials from landfill and contributing to a charitable cause through the Emirates Airline Foundation,” Sir Clark said in a statement to Traveller.

“It‘s an elegant and fitting retirement solution for this iconic aircraft and our flagship.”

The airline’s iconic A380 bar will be sold. Picture: Supplied

The bar, in the first and business class lounge of the A380, was an iconic addition. Picture: Emirates

A6-EDA, which was retired in March 2020, flew more than 6300 flights over its almost 12 years in service.

The superjumbo visited 62 airports during its time in service

Late last month, Emirates announced that its flagship A380 would return to Australian skies from December 1.

Thanks to high vaccination rates in NSW, Victoria and the ACT, and the end of quarantine for fully vaccinated Australians, Emirates said the A380 would be needed from December to keep up with the demand.

The A380 will serve the Dubai-Sydney route once a day from December, carrying 516 passengers.

Emirates’ Airbus A380. Picture: Supplied

Barry Brown, Emirates Divisional Vice President for Australasia, said the airline was “delighted” to return regular services to Australia.

“We would like to thank our customers for their loyalty as we navigated the challenges together since the start of the pandemic. We are more than ever committed to Australia and it is especially exciting for us to add Sydney to the growing network of destinations served by our popular A380 aircraft,” he said.

“Our customers appreciate the spaciousness and amenities of the flagship A380 and starting in December they will be able to experience the exceptional product when flying to or from Sydney.”