How many passengers does the world's largest aircraft carry?

The maximum figure for a passenger aircraft isn't set by comfort but by certification: it must be shown that all occupants can evacuate in 90 seconds with half the exits blocked. The A380 passed that test in 2006 with 853 passengers and 20 crew in 78 seconds, and that is its legal limit. No customer ever used it: the densest configuration in service has been Emirates', with 615 seats in two classes (58 in business and 557 in economy), followed by Air France's (516) and Lufthansa's (509).

Airbus sold the A380 with 525 seats in three classes as the reference figure and later raised it to 575 in four. Premium-focused airlines went much lower: Singapore Airlines and Etihad have flown versions with fewer than 500 seats, featuring suites and an upper-deck lounge. With 251 units built through 2021, the active fleet is concentrated at Emirates, with more than 100 aircraft, and at a handful of operators such as British Airways, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways and Lufthansa, while Air France and Thai Airways retired theirs (as of September 2026).

The Boeing 747-8, the second-largest, is certified for 605 passengers and flies with roughly 410-470 in three classes; Lufthansa is its main passenger operator. The Antonov An-225 Mriya, with a maximum takeoff weight of 640 t, was the largest aircraft ever built, but it was a cargo plane with no passenger seats, and it was destroyed at Hostomel in 2022. At the other end of the scale, the largest single-aisle passenger aircraft, the Airbus A321neo, seats up to 244 passengers, less than half of an A380 even in its most modest configuration. What makes the A380 unique isn't just the numbers: it's the only commercial aircraft with two full-length decks from nose to tail.