Another stored A380 takes to the skies to become an Airbus testbed aircraft

There was a recent flurry of interest caused by a stored Airbus A380 superjumbo taking to the skies and heading from France to Germany for heavy maintenance. That aircraft, registered as 9H-MIP and formerly owned and operated by HiFly,  was rumoured to be heading to the UK’s Global Airlines – rumours that were quickly dispelled by the startup airline itself.

Now, without similar fanfare, another stored Airbus A380 has taken to the skies once more after having been in storage for years. The aircraft in question, with manufacturer serial number MSN114, appeared on the radar tracking site Flightradar24 for the first time in three years on September 25, 2025, but now registered on the Guernsey civil register as 2-JAYN. MSN114 still carries a special sticker denoting it was the 100th Airbus A380 built.

MSN114 was formerly known as 9M-MNF and flew for Malaysia Airlines. The A380 first flew in late 2012 and was delivered to Malaysia Airlines as 9M-MNF in March 2013. The aircraft flew with Malaysia Airlines until 2020, when the airline placed its entire fleet of six A380s into storage due to the pandemic.

Riik@mctr / Wikimedia CommonsAfter trying but ultimately failing to find a buyer for its A380s from July 2021 onward, Malaysia was able to get Airbus to take the aircraft back as part of the airline’s purchase agreement for 20 A330-900neos, the first of which arrived earlier in 2025.  

Following the deal with Airbus. 9M-MNF left Kuala Lumpur International Airport on 19 December 2022 heading for storage in France. Now owned by Airbus Financial Services, MSN114 has remained in long-term storage at Tarbes in the hands of the Tarmac Aerosave facility until now.

According to Flightradar24, on September 25, 2025, the aircraft was noted performing a rejected take-off procedure at Tarbes, reaching a maximum speed of 107 knots. The following day, the A380 conducted a two-hour, 55-minute-long maintenance test flight from Lourdes-Tarbes Airport (TBE) in Southwest France, climbing up to 43,000 feet and marking the first flight of the aircraft in over three years.

The flight saw the aircraft fly a route that overflew the French cities of Bordeaux, Limoges, La Rochelle, and Toulouse before landing back at Tarbes.  

Flightradar24Having presumably performed as expected on its test flight, three days later, the aircraft was once again airborne on October 1, 2025. However, coming as a surprise to many, the plane headed east and set course for Abu Dhabi.       

After a flight lasting six hours and 35 minutes and carrying Airbus flight number AIB114, the A380 touched down at Zayed International Airport (AUH) in Abu Dhabi. Upon landing, the aircraft taxied to the Etihad Engineering area of the airport to receive attention from Etihad’s skilled team of Airbus A380 specialist engineers.  

Flightradar24Having contacted Airbus for a reason as to why the aircraft had flown to Etihad in Abu Dhabi, Airbus responded to Flightradar24’s query by stating that after heavy maintenance, MSN114 will go through even more modifications to serve as a future flight test aircraft on behalf of the European manufacturer.

With eyes keenly watching what comes next for MSN114, it is significant that its revival comes just weeks after that of one of its sisterships. With two more A380s returning to the skies in recent weeks, all those who say the superjumbo’s days are numbered just might want to reconsider.

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