Originally Posted by
skipness1E
A18 is often used nowadays, not unusual to see B777 or B787 parked up. Actually A14, A16 and A18 can all take up to B744, I saw three of them lined up Christmas 2008! And during COVID, you could see three B777/B787s in a row on T5A. I think they use A18 as an arrival gate and tow off more often than a depaeture.
That's right, the difference between them though is that you can put either two widebodies on 14 and 16, or you can put 3 narrowbodies in the same space on 13+15+17, therefore this is the normal setup to maximise T5A useage. 18 however is a single large stand with no variable useage, therefore the only downside to using it for a 777 etc is the turnaround time occupying it for a long time.