Earlier this week, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued an emergency airworthiness directive (AD) regarding the structural integrity of wing spars on 16 Airbus A380 aircraft operated by Emirates and Qantas.
The planes had been inspected earlier this year following a broader December 2025 AD regarding the susceptibility of the entire Airbus A380 fleet to “hydrogen embrittlement.” Hydrogen embrittlement can result from prolonged storage, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic, and may cause cracks in key components.
“Following the review of the results of those inspections, it has been determined that the cracks found on certain aeroplanes could reduce the structural integrity of the wing,” said the EASA in its June 22 AD.
Emirates and Qantas are required to coordinate an additional, more detailed inspection of the 16 aircraft included in the EASA mandate. Those aircraft were divided into two groups: five planes operated by Emirates that must be evaluated before their next passenger flight, and 11, including one flown by Qantas, that should be inspected within their next 25 flight cycles, or 13 flights total. If any discrepancy is found by the airlines, they must contact Airbus for instructions on how to repair the aircraft and on what timeline.
This isn’t the first time that Airbus has had to address a wing crack issue on the A380 fleet. In 2012, the EASA issued an AD regarding a propensity for cracks in the structural components that connect the wing rib to the wing skin. The issue was caused by a flaw in the manufacturing process and resulted in €105m in repairs by Airbus, although grounding for inspection and repairs primarily impacted Emirates, as well as Singapore Airlines.
The Airbus A380 was introduced to the market in 2005 as the world’s largest passenger aircraft, a competitor to the Boeing 747, designed for long-haul routes, with two decks and four engines. Emirates was the biggest customer, purchasing 123 A380S over 14 years, many configured with private first-class suites, lay-flat seats, and other luxury amenities.
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The repairs made in coordination with Airbus aren’t the first, or even the most expensive, upgrades Emirates has made to its A380S. The airline announced an ambitious multi-billion-dollar retrofit campaign in 2021, and the first A380 to complete the program made its inaugural flight from Dubai to London in 2023. In April of this year, Emirates also debuted Starlink WiFi on its A380 planes.
Neither Emirates nor Qantas has announced any flight cancellations as a result of the most recent inspections.
Just last month, Emirates began making changes to several routes between the airline’s hub in Dubai and Beijing, Copenhagen, London Gatwick, Manchester, Munich, Osaka, Perth, Václav and Washington Dulles. Those adjustments include service frequency and swapping out A380S for Boeing aircraft and other options within Emirates’ fleet. As for Qantas, the airline stated that its A380 was already grounded for routine “heavy maintenance,” and that the additional inspection will not affect service.
This story was originally published by Parade on Jun 25, 2026, where it first appeared in the Travel section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.