Singapore Airlines became the first airline to fly the Airbus A380, with its first delivery in October 2007. However, after more than 19 years of service, the airline has retired 12 of its double-decker superjumbos. Currently, Singapore Airlines has a dozen A380s still in operation, flying to nine destinations from its hub at Changi Airport, including Dubai, which will be discussed further in this article. Let’s take a closer look at the 12 routes where the A380 was once used.

The A380’s inaugural route was from Singapore to Sydney in October 2007, and it remains an important destination in the airline’s network. This was also the first A380 route for any airline in the world. Since then, Singapore Airlines has stopped using the A380 on 12 other routes, while British Airways has discontinued its A380 flights to eight destinations. Among these routes, Tokyo Narita had the most A380 departures, with over 3,900 flights, the last of which was in May 2025. It is uncertain if the airline will use its A380s to Japan again in the future.

Here is a list of the 12 airports where Singapore Airlines no longer operates the A380:

– Tokyo Narita: 2008-2020, 2024-2025
– Zurich: 2010-2020
– Paris CDG: 2009-2019, 2023
– New York JFK (via Frankfurt): 2012-2023
– Melbourne: 2009-2020, 2023
– Beijing Capital: 2008, 2014-2020
– Los Angeles (via Tokyo Narita): 2011-2016
– Osaka Kansai: 2012-2020
– San Francisco (via Hong Kong): 2012-2013
– Kuala Lumpur: 2021
– Nagoya: 2014, 2016, 2019
– Bangkok: 2015-2016

But why did some of these routes, such as the one from Singapore to Zurich, require the use of the A380? The answer lies in the high volume of traffic and premium passengers on these routes. Zurich, in particular, is a popular destination for business travelers, making it a lucrative market for airlines. This is why Singapore Airlines initially deployed its A380s on this route, with a special ultra-high-premium configuration. However, in 2026, Zurich will still see first-class-equipped aircraft from Singapore Airlines, but this time on the 777-300ER.

According to booking data, Zurich is Singapore’s sixth most popular European market, with 110,000 local passengers. Only London Heathrow, Paris CDG, Amsterdam, Athens, and Milan Malpensa have more point-to-point traffic.