Airbus has inaugurated its new A320 Family final assembly line (FAL) in Toulouse, France. The roll-out of the first aircraft fully assembled in this facility - an A321 - is expected to occur by the year's end.
The new state-of-the-art facility will be capable of manufacturing the A321 jetliner and will support Airbus’ commercial aircraft ramp-up to meet unprecedented single-aisle jetliner demand. The site will progressively ramp up operations between now and 2025, directly employing around 700 workers.
Guillaume Faury, CEO, Airbus, said, “This FAL will contribute to the ongoing production rate ramp-up to 75 A320 Family aircraft per month in 2026, while meeting the increased demand for A321s, which currently represents around 60% of the total A320 Family backlog.”
The new facility joins Airbus’ worldwide network of final assembly sites comprising four FALs in Hamburg, Germany; two in Toulouse, France; two in Mobile, United States; and two in Tianjin, China, all capable of assembling the A321.
Airbus has installed the new FAL in the former A380 “Jean-Luc Lagardère” assembly building and started initial operations at the end of 2022 with the delivery of the first fuselage sections.
This latest A320 Family FAL features several innovations targeted at maximising product quality and efficiency and establishing new health, safety and sustainability standards.
The FAL features digital production control using tablets and smartphones to reduce paper consumption, automated logistics for parts distribution and lightweight robots for joining sections.
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