![\"This](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Theres-an-entire-fleet-of-Airbus-A380s-thats-been-sitting-unmoved-and-abandoned-at-an-airport-in-Tha.webp\")
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There\u2019s an entire fleet of Airbus A380s that\u2019s been sitting unmoved and abandoned at an airport in Thailand for years.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a well-known story at this point, mainly because the\u00a0aircraft<\/a>\u00a0are rotting away in plain sight and they\u2019ve been there for a few years.<\/p>\n Anybody flying to or from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport or U-Tapao Rayong Pattaya International Airport can spot them.<\/p>\n Only one was saved, and you\u2019ll never guess what it\u2019s being used for now.<\/p>\n This is why these Airbus A380s were abandoned here<\/p>\n A few years before the pandemic, Thai Airways bit off more than it could chew by investing in a fleet of double-decker giants.<\/p>\n The problem is that the Airbus A380 is one of the most expensive airliners in the world.<\/p>\n It costs a fortune to buy and a fortune to maintain, which explains why very few airlines actually operate them.<\/p>\n Thai Airways certainly made a strategic mistake when they bought all these aircraft, but they were also a bit unlucky because their timing was pretty bad.<\/p>\n Airbus A380s were already expensive to maintain before Covid, but when the pandemic halted so many flights globally Thai Airways had to ground all of them immediately<\/a>.<\/p>\n At that point, the airline realized that these giants<\/a>\u00a0were simply too thirsty and unprofitable, which is why they officially retired the entire fleet.<\/p>\n In the meantime, Thai Airways had also undergone Thailand\u2019s equivalent of Chapter 11 [Bankruptcy protection] and was essentially ordered to sell or write off nearly half of its fleet.<\/p>\n Six years later, the situation is still pretty dramatic.<\/p>\n Only one Thai Airways aircraft was saved<\/p>\n Not long ago, we spoke with a frequent flyer and content creator who goes by Diecastjames<\/a>, and he told us that he spotted at least four Airbus A380s left at Bangkok Airport.<\/p>\n \u201cI spotted four A380s left. I saw three on the main storage taxiway but there\u2019s also a fourth one that\u2019s being stripped out near the hangar. And you can\u2019t see that in the video,\u201d he told Supercar Blondie.<\/p>\n The problem for Thai Airways is that getting rid of these aircraft is a slow, painful, and complicated process, but it is also a race against time.<\/p>\n Every minute you wait makes it worse because aircraft deteriorate pretty quickly when they\u2019re not used and maintained, while their value will likely continue to go down.<\/p>\n It would probably help a bit if we at least managed to find a silver lining and, fortunately, there is one.<\/p>\n Sort of.<\/p>\n If we absolutely wanted to find a silver lining, we could talk about the only one that was saved.<\/p>\n One of these A380s<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 registration number HS-TUE \u2013 was dismantled, and then reassembled as a roadside attraction in a place called Rayong, around 120 miles south of the capital, Bangkok.<\/p>\n A photographer called\u00a0Dirk Grothe<\/a>\u00a0shared images of the plane in Rayong, Thailand, and, based on what Google Maps says,\u00a0the aircraft is now being used<\/a> as an all-purpose night market with cafes, restaurants, and so on.<\/p>\n You can find on both Google Maps and Google Earth using the\u00a0coordinates<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s certainly a small consolation prize as these aircraft probably deserved a better fate.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t![\"There's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789273091_940_Theres-an-entire-fleet-of-Airbus-A380s-thats-been-sitting-unmoved-and-abandoned-at-an-airport-in-Tha.webp\")
<\/a>Diecastjames<\/p>\n![\"There's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789273091_58_Theres-an-entire-fleet-of-Airbus-A380s-thats-been-sitting-unmoved-and-abandoned-at-an-airport-in-Tha.webp\")
<\/a>Diecastjames<\/p>\n![\"There's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789273092_891_Theres-an-entire-fleet-of-Airbus-A380s-thats-been-sitting-unmoved-and-abandoned-at-an-airport-in-Tha.webp\")
<\/a>Diecastjames<\/p>\n![\"Airbus](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789273093_560_Theres-an-entire-fleet-of-Airbus-A380s-thats-been-sitting-unmoved-and-abandoned-at-an-airport-in-Tha.webp\")
<\/a>Google Maps<\/p>\n