The Airbus A380-800 is the largest Airbus aircraft. Compare its dimensions, weight and capacity, and learn why the longer A340-600 is not bigger.
The Airbus A380-800 is the largest Airbus aircraft overall and the world’s largest passenger airliner. It has two full-length passenger decks, a 79.75-metre wingspan and a maximum take-off weight of up to 575 tonnes. The A340-600 is longer nose to tail, but it is not larger overall.
Why is the Airbus A380 considered the largest?
The A380 leads Airbus aircraft in the measures that best describe overall size: wingspan, maximum take-off weight, passenger capacity and usable passenger floor area.
In Aviation & Real-World Flying, the word largest needs a stated metric. These are the principal A380-800 figures:
| Measurement | A380-800 specification |
|---|---|
| Length | 72.72 m (238 ft 7 in) |
| Wingspan | 79.75 m (261 ft 8 in) |
| Height | 24.09 m (79 ft) |
| Maximum take-off weight | Up to 575 tonnes |
| Maximum certified seating | 853 passengers |
The take-off weight depends on the approved aircraft weight variant, so 575 tonnes is an upper figure, not the operating weight of every A380 departure.
Is the A380 the longest Airbus aircraft?
No. The A340-600 is Airbus’s longest production airliner at 75.36 metres, making it about 2.64 metres longer than the A380-800. The A350-1000, at 73.79 metres, is also slightly longer than the A380.
| Meaning of “largest” | Airbus aircraft | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Largest overall | A380-800 | Greatest wingspan, weight and passenger capacity |
| Longest fuselage | A340-600 | 75.36 metres from nose to tail |
| Outsize component transporter | BelugaXL | Bulbous cargo hold designed for wings and fuselage sections |
The BelugaXL can look larger because of its swollen upper fuselage, but it is a specialist transporter rather than Airbus’s largest aircraft by weight or span. Our guide to Airbus’s commercial, military and helicopter families explains where these aircraft fit within the wider range.
How many passengers can the Airbus A380 carry?
The A380 is certified for a maximum of 853 passengers in a very dense all-economy configuration. Airlines normally fit substantially fewer seats—often roughly 400 to 600—to provide business- and first-class cabins, galleys, toilets, lounges and other service areas.
Both passenger decks run for almost the full length of the fuselage. A cargo hold sits below them, but describing the A380 as having three passenger decks is incorrect.
Were any larger A380 versions built?
No larger A380 version entered production. Airbus studied a stretched A380-900 and planned an A380 freighter, but every customer aircraft delivered belonged to the A380-800 series.
This distinction matters because drawings and model numbers for proposed variants are sometimes presented online as though those aircraft flew. They did not become production aircraft.
Is the world’s largest Airbus still flying?
Yes. A380 production ended in 2021, but ending the assembly programme did not retire aircraft already delivered; airlines continue to operate the type. Our account of why A380 production stopped covers the economic and operational reasons without confusing discontinuation with immediate withdrawal from service.
Is the A380 larger than the Boeing 747?
The A380 is larger than the Boeing 747 in wingspan, maximum take-off weight, passenger capacity and cabin floor area. The 747-8 is longer, however, at approximately 76.3 metres compared with the A380-800’s 72.72 metres.
That is why “largest passenger airliner” and “longest airliner” are not interchangeable. Our detailed size comparison of Boeing’s largest aircraft provides the corresponding Boeing measurements.