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China Southern Airlines to cease A380 operations this year; media reports
February 24th 2022
China Southern Airlines (CSA) plans to retire its five A380s by the end of the year, local media has reported, citing internal correspondence. Read More » The Guangzhou-headquartered carrier began A380 operations in 2011, but the type’s early operations were limited because CSA only could fly the double-decker aircraft on domestic routes until the carrier received approval to operate to Los Angeles, its first international route for the A380. CSA's utilisation of the type has been much reduced during the pandemic, but it has flown on occasional services to Australia, Europe and the U.S., data from flight tracking websites show. At a 2021 industry conference, CSA senior vice-president of international and corporate relations, Wu Guoxiang, said the A380 was too large and its operating costs were very high.
