Emirates Created a Viral Festive A380 Video for Christmas
 |
| Emirates Unveils 'Sleigh380' in Viral Holiday Video Sparking Christmas Buzz – Credits: Emirates / Instagram |
Dubai-based Emirates airline released a festive video on December 23, 2025, reimagining its Airbus A380 as the "Sleigh380" for Santa's global deliveries.
The clip shows ground handlers loading colorful presents onto a giant sleigh attached to the aircraft at Dubai International Airport, and the plane features a glowing red nose inspired by Rudolph along with reindeer antlers emerging from a wreath on top.
"Introducing the Sleigh380. Santa's going long-haul this year! Merry Christmas from Emirates," read the caption accompanying the post.
You can watch the video here:
After the gifts are secured, the Sleigh380 accelerates down the runway and lifts off into the sky, simulating a long-haul flight for holiday distributions.
Emirates shared the video across platforms such as X, Instagram and Facebook, where it quickly gained traction among viewers during the busy travel season.
The airline collaborated with Dubai-based digital artist Mostafa Eldiast, who operates under the handle @100.pixels, to create the handcrafted visuals for the production.
Eldiast has worked with Emirates on previous viral A380 content, and the carrier emphasized the manual effort behind the scenes to distinguish it from artificial intelligence tools.
"Nope, this isn’t AI," Emirates stated in response to questions about the video's creation. But the video is also not original and is an edited (handcrafted), altered video.
Emirates operates over 3,500 flights weekly from its hub at Dubai International's Terminal 3 as the world's largest long-haul carrier, and it anticipates handling 2.3 million departures and 2.5 million arrivals during the holiday period.
The video marks the airline's second Christmas-themed release this month, following one featuring television personality Andi Peters highlighting onboard festive meals like roasted turkey with chestnut stuffing and fruitcake desserts.
