News from Jakarta has provided potential new insights into why Emirates Airlines suddenly withdrew Super Jumbo A380 aircraft between Dubai and Denpasar on 18 January 2026, replacing the world’s largest passenger aircraft with smaller-capacity Boeing 777s. Details of the announcement of achange-of-aircraft are set out in Bali Discovery’s article Emirate’s A380 Super Jumbo Withdrawn from Bali Service.
As of 29 January 2026, Emirates has issued no formal statement explaining the downgrade in passenger capacity. While some have speculated that the aircraft change decision is linked to cyclical shifts in seasonal demand, new information indicates that regulatory pressures from Indonesian civil aviation authorities are the reason for the withdrawal of Airbus A380 aircraft from the Dubai-Denpasar service.
CNBC is reporting that Emirates has been denied permission to fly its Airbus A380 aircraft to Indonesia due to the Indonesian Government’s displeasure with the lack of Indonesian nationals among the cockpit crew manifests for Emirates’ Jumbo A380s flying to Indonesia, or the use of a local Indonesian maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) organization.
Speaking at the launch of the Indonesian Aviation Association (IAA) on Wednesday, 28 January 2026, Lukman F. Laisa, Indonesia’s Director General of Civil Aviation, said, “I have only requested three things (from Emirates), namely an MRO involvement in Indonesia, more Indonesian crew, and more Indonesian destinations other than just Jakarta and Bali.”
Laisa compared Emirates’ flight operations in Indonesia with those of other airlines, such as Qatar Airways and Etihad, which he claims are more open to the use of Indonesian workers.
Continuing, Lukman Laisa said, “QATAR employs 90 Indonesian pilots, Etihad 40 Indonesian pilots – this is not to mention the number of cabin crew these airlines employ. There are only six pilots at Emirates. They (Emirates) only want to give us one Indonesian crew, while we are asking for 3 crewmembers because of the use of the Airbus A380.”
As a result, the Indonesian government is withholding flight operation permits for the Emirates Airbus A380 aircraft, universally acknowledged as the latest passenger aircraft in operation today.
“So, because of this lack of Indonesian manpower, I am withholding requests for three Airbus A380 aircraft to Bali. Additionally, permission to use Airbus A380 aircraft in Bali I am still keeping on ‘hold,” said Lukman Laisa.
In fact, negotiations between the Indonesian government and Emirates have failed to yield the hoped-for positive results. Lukman admits that the Indonesian government has directly requested Indonesia, with no change in the position of the Dubai-based management of the Airline.
“We desire progress in our negotiations with Emirates, advising them that we have qualified workers available for the Jakarta-Dubai air service,” said Lukman while underlining that opportunities for compromise with Emirates remain. providing Indonesian national interests are not compromised.
While negotiations seeking a compromise between Indonesia and Emirates continue, there is no sign of a compromise on crewing with Emirates in sight. But, in the meantime, QATAR and Etihad are allowed to operate Airbus A380 aircraft to Indonesia, while Emirates, without any compromise on manpower, will be relegated to flying Boeing 777s.
Related Link
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