Emirates completes first flight to Jakarta using its A380

Emirates recently completed the first flight to Jakarta using its flagship Airbus A380 superjumbo aircraft coinciding with a International Super Cup 2026 match between two major European football teams.

Operating as a special one-off flight, an Emirates A380 registered as A6-EEK on flight EK358 between Dubai and Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on August 8. After departing before noon, the aircraft arrived at Jakarta at around 1021H. It then departed Jakarta after midnight as EK359 for the return flight back to Dubai.

The special A380 visit to Jakarta replaced the Boeing 777-300ER used on the second daily Dubai-Jakarta service. The temporary change was part of Emirates role in transporting members of Italian Serie A football team AC Milan which played a friendly match against Chelsea FC as part of its 2026 summer pre-season tour in Indonesia. Emirates is AC Milan’s official airline and principal partner.

“Although the visit was brief, the aircraft's historic debut attracted significant interest from plane spotters and aviation enthusiasts, many of whom gathered to witness its first landing and departure from Jakarta.”

The A380 in Indonesia

Emirates currently operates a total of 28 weekly flights to/from Indonesia, including the twice-daily flights each to Jakarta and Denpasar (Bali). Until the recent special one-off A380 flight to Jakarta, Denpasar was the lone destination in the country which has seen the superjumbos used by Emirates. The Dubai-based carrier has deployed the A380 to Denpasar since June 1, 2023.

Ahead of the arrival of the A380, Soekarno-Hatta International Airport General Manager Heru Karyadi confirmed the operational capability of Indonesia’s main international gateway to accommodate the A380 which is an ICAO Aerodome Reference Code 4F (Code F) super widebody aircraft.

"Thorough preparations have been carried out alongside regulators, airline partners, and aviation stakeholders to guarantee a safe, seamless, and best experience for passengers," Heru was quoted saying in a report by Tempo published on July 31.

Heru further stated of the three runways at Soekarno-Hatta Airport, two of the runways satisfy the requirement to accommodate ICAO Code F aircraft with lengths over 3600m and width of 60m. Three parking stands (G26, G29, and G33) are designed for Code F aircraft.

"This infrastructure is supported by a network of parallel taxiways, aprons, and specialized terminal facilities engineered to support double-deck wide-body jets, including the Airbus A380-800.”