The Emirates A380 is here！ The world’s largest passenger aircraft now flies daily between Taipei and Dubai

▲Video of the Emirates A380 arriving in Taiwan.

▲Taoyuan Airport holds a water cannon salute for the A380. (Photo / Reporter Ji Xiangru, same below)

Reporter Chen Ruizhong / Taoyuan

Starting today (May 1), Emirates has officially upgraded its Taipei–Dubai route from the previous 777-300ER model to the world’s largest passenger aircraft — the A380-800. This makes it the first airline in Taiwan to operate regular scheduled flights using the A380.

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▲Emirates A380 officially begins regular scheduled flights in Taiwan.

In the past, the A380 first carried passengers to Taiwan in July 2015 on a one-off flight, setting a record as the first time an A380 transported travelers to Taiwan. At 16:50 today, an A380 that took off from Dubai officially arrived at Taiwan’s Taoyuan Airport and used Gate C2, which has a double-deck jet bridge, to disembark passengers. To welcome the A380’s official arrival in Taiwan, Taoyuan Airport held a grand welcoming tea party and arranged a traditional water cannon salute.

▲Deputy Minister of Transportation Wu Mengfen (2nd from left) exchanges commemorative gifts with Emirates’ Thierry Antinori.

The A380 that arrived in Taiwan in July 2015 had three classes, while the A380 used on the Taipei–Dubai route from May 1 features a two-class layout, with 58 business class seats and 557 economy class seats, accommodating a total of 615 passengers — 44% more than the previous 777-300ER model, and capable of carrying 8,610 passengers per week. Taoyuan Airport stated that the A380’s inbound flight today had an 80% load factor, while the outbound flight had a 97% load factor, equivalent to about 492 and 597 passengers respectively.

See more photos of the A380 arriving in Taiwan＜＜＜Click here

▲Emirates flight attendants with the A380 aircraft.

At today’s welcoming tea party, Deputy Minister of Transportation Wu Mengfen and Emirates’ Thierry Antinori also exchanged symbolic gifts, jointly witnessing this new milestone achieved by the A380. Taoyuan Airport also noted that before the A380’s arrival in Taiwan, Emirates had sent specialists to conduct runway inspections, giving positive feedback on the length and width of Taoyuan Airport’s runways. The A380 stationed at Gate C2 is also scheduled to depart Taoyuan at 23:50 and return to Dubai.