Footage captures Emirates pilot expertly landing Airbus A380 during UAE’s largest thunderstorm
Published on Feb 21, 2026 at 9:13 PM (UTC+4)
by Henry Kelsall
Last updated on Feb 19, 2026 at 10:08 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Some remarkable footage has captured an Emirates pilot navigating a huge thunderstorm in the UAE to bring his Airbus A380 airliner onto the ground safely.
The footage was shared in April 2024 on Instagram by Ahmad Abu Jamil while he was on board the huge airplane.
The in-flight entertainment screens were able to show the Airbus as it flew in its holding pattern and landed, with a camera positioned in the tailplane of the jet.
It showed the severe weather the airplane was flying in and how smooth the landing was.
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The Airbus A380 had to navigate a tricky storm
In the Instagram post, Ahmad Abu Jamil said that it was an Emirates flight EK052 from Germany to Dubai.
While waiting to land, the aircraft was placed into an extra 45-minute holding pattern above the airport.
It is in the footage that we can see the aircraft fly around in this pattern.
After a long flight, both crew and passengers will always want to get onto the ground as quickly as possible.
But as seen on the camera, the jet was flying through some dramatic weather, with big dark clouds and rain.
According to Jamil, the Emirates pilot used every meter of the runway.
This was due to the water on it when he finally landed.
Water can reduce the friction between the A380’s tires and the surface of the runway.
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The A380 is the world’s largest airliner
There is also the risk of increased aquaplaning, which isn’t what you want with the world’s largest airliner.
Emirates is the largest operator of the giant Airbus, with just 254 of the aircraft built in total.
Five airlines have already fully retired their fleets due to the cost of operating the huge luxury aircraft.
Airbus had hoped that the new A380 would challenge the dominance of the Boeing 747.
But the airliner fell short of expectations.
Each aircraft cost $445 million to build, and Airbus needed a profit of $90 million each time.
With orders falling, production ended in 2021.
But the aircraft is still in service, and as we can see in the above video, it can handle any type of weather.
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Henry joined the Supercar Blondie team in February 2025, and since then has covered a wide array of topics ranging from EVs, American barn finds, and the odd Cold War jet. He’s combined his passion for cars with his keen interest in motorsport and his side hustle as a volunteer steam locomotive fireman at a leading heritage steam railway in England.
