How big is that fuel tank?
Fuel tanks scale far faster than the vehicles around them. An A380 carries 2 600 car-tanks of kerosene.
Almost exactly a family car
60 L is bigger than 2 of the 9 references on this page.
Reference figures are measurements and are rounded; the unit conversion behind them is exact.
| Reference | Size | Yours ÷ theirs | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| motorcycle | 16 L | 3.75× | |
| small car | 45 L | 1.33× | |
| family car | 60 L | 1× | |
| pickup truck | 98 L | 0.612× | |
| articulated lorry | 1,000 L | 1/16.7 | Two 500-litre tanks |
| Boeing 737 | 26,000 L | 1/433 | |
| Boeing 747 | 216,840 L | 1/3,614 | |
| Airbus A380 | 320,000 L | 1/5,333 | |
| container ship | 4,500,000 L | 1/75,000 | Heavy fuel oil bunkers |
Worth knowing
- An Airbus A380 holds 320 000 litres of fuel — as much as 5 300 family cars, and weighing 254 tonnes.
- A large container ship burns around 150 tonnes of fuel a day at sea, which is why bunkers are measured in thousands of cubic metres.
Frequently asked
How much fuel does a plane use?
A 737 burns about 2 500 litres an hour, an A380 around 13 000. Per passenger-kilometre, however, a full A380 is roughly comparable to a small car with one occupant.
Why are aircraft tanks in the wings?
Because fuel weight in the wings counteracts the lift bending them upward, reducing the structure needed. It also keeps the centre of gravity stable as fuel burns off.