The final Etihad Airways Airbus A380 stored during the COVID-19 pandemic is returning to Abu-Dhabi after spending over five years in storage in southern France.
On September 17, 2026, shortly after 09:30 local time, the 12-year-old Airbus A380 departed Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrenees Airport (LDE) for Abu Dhabi Zayed International Airport (AUH) in the UAE.
According to Flightradar24, the Etihad A380-800, registered A6-APB, has spent the last eight months being prepared for flight with aircraft specialists TARMAC Aerosave.
Once the A380 lands safely in Abu Dhabi, it will go through further heavy maintenance to ensure the aircraft is ready for commercial operations.
(Markus Mainka / Shutterstock.com)
A6-APB was delivered to Etihad in 2015 but was withdrawn from operations in 2020 and flown to Tarbes in December 2020.
In August 2025, news broke that Etihad planned to return its last two A380s to service in June 2026 and January 2027.
According to Planespotter.net, the Etihad A380, registered A6-APC, returned to service on June 5, 2026, after arriving back in Abu Dhabi in January 2026.
Etihad brought back its first stored A380, registered A6-APG, in March 2023, while the second A380 registered A6-API, left storage in May 2023.
Its third double-decker aircraft, registered A6-APH, departed its storage location at Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrenees Airport on June 21, 2023.
Once A6-APB recommences operations, all nine Etihad Airbus A380s will be fleet active. A tenth A380, registered A6-APA, was scrapped in 2025.
When the COVID-19 pandemic ground global travel, Etihad stored all 10 A380s. While initially there were no plans for the superjumbos to return to service, following the pandemic there was a huge appetite for long-haul travel.