277 t611,000 lb
An empty Airbus A380 weighs about 277 tonnes (610,700 lb), the widely quoted operating empty weight with its cabin and equipment but no usable fuel, passengers or cargo. Fully loaded, the heaviest version may take off at 575 tonnes (1,267,658 lb), the highest takeoff weight of any passenger airliner ever built.
| Maximum takeoff weight, heaviest versionWeight variants WV008 and WV011 | 575 t1,270,000 lb |
|---|---|
| Maximum takeoff weight, original versionWeight variant WV000 | 560 t1,230,000 lb |
| Maximum takeoff weight, lightest versionWeight variant WV010 | 480 t1,060,000 lb |
| Maximum landing weight575 t version; 386 to 395 t across all versions | 394 t869,000 lb |
| Maximum zero fuel weight575 t version: the plane plus everything aboard except fuel | 369 t814,000 lb |
| Empty (operating empty weight)Widely quoted figure; real aircraft vary with the cabin fitted | 277 t611,000 lb |
An airliner does not have one weight. Airbus certifies the A380 with a set of limits: the most it may weigh at the start of the takeoff run, the most it may weigh when it lands, and the most it may weigh before any fuel is added. Its airport planning manual lists 15 “weight variants”, from WV000 to WV014, with maximum takeoff weights between 480 tonnes and 575 tonnes.
The first A380s were offered at 560 tonnes (1,234,588 lb) and 569 tonnes. The 575 t version (WV008) arrived in late 2012; it can taxi at up to 577 t, take off at 575 t, land at no more than 394 tonnes (868,621 lb) and weigh at most 369 t without fuel. Airlines pick the variant that suits their routes, and lighter variants exist for operators that never need the full weight.
Airbus’s airport planning document does not give an empty weight, because it depends on the seats, galleys and equipment each airline orders. The figure quoted in most references is 276,800 kg (about 610,200 lb), which rounds to 277 tonnes. Wikipedia currently gives 285 t, worked out as the maximum zero fuel weight minus the maximum payload, so individual aircraft can sit a few tonnes either side of 277 t.
Early aircraft came out heavy. In 2008 Emirates president Tim Clark said the first A380s were about 5 tonnes heavier than the weight in the airline’s 2000 contract, and Airbus planned to take at least 2 tonnes out of aircraft delivered from 2012.
The gap between empty and zero fuel weight is what the plane can carry. For the 575 t version that is 369 t minus 277 t, or roughly 92 tonnes (about 203,000 lb) of passengers, bags and cargo.
The A380 holds 323,546 litres (85,472 US gal) of usable fuel, which Airbus counts as 253,983 kg (559,937 lb). That is nearly as much as the empty plane. It cannot fill its tanks and its cabin at once: 277 t empty plus 254 t of fuel is 531 t, leaving only about 44 t for payload under the 575 t limit.
Airbus’s standard layout seats 555, and airline cabins have ranged from Korean Air’s 407 seats to 615 in Emirates’ two-class version. The 853 figure comes from the evacuation test on 26 March 2006 in Hamburg, when 853 passengers and 20 crew left the darkened aircraft in 78 seconds with half of its 16 exits blocked. EASA’s current type certificate approves up to 868 passengers, 330 on the upper deck and 538 on the main deck.
Yes. Guinness World Records lists the A380-800 as the heaviest passenger aircraft, with a 575,000 kg maximum takeoff weight, a record dated November 2012. The largest Boeing 747, the 747-8, tops out at 447,696 kg. Only the Antonov An-225 cargo plane, at 640 t, was heavier, and it never carried passengers.
Production has ended. Airbus built 254 A380s, three of them test aircraft, and delivered 251 to airlines; the last went to Emirates on 16 December 2021.
An empty A380 weighs about 610,700 lb (277 t). At its highest maximum takeoff weight it weighs 1,267,658 lb (575 t).
Up to 575 tonnes (1,267,658 lb) at takeoff for the heaviest version, or 560 t for the original one. It must burn fuel down to about 386 to 395 tonnes, depending on the version, before it may land.
Its tanks hold 323,546 litres (85,472 US gal) of usable fuel, about 254 tonnes (559,937 lb). That is almost as heavy as the empty aircraft.
Airline layouts have ranged from 407 to 615 seats. Airbus quotes 853 passengers in an all-economy layout, the number used in its 2006 evacuation test, and EASA now approves up to 868.
Yes. The A380’s maximum takeoff weight of 575 t is about 127 t more than the 447,696 kg of the Boeing 747-8, the heaviest 747.
Last checked October 2, 2026.
