Airbus has inaugurated its new A320 Family final assembly line (FAL) in Toulouse. This FAL will contribute to the ongoing production rate ramp-up to 75 A320 Family aircraft per month in 2026, Airbus said, while meeting the increased demand for A321s which currently represents around 60% of the total A320 Family backlog.
“We’re pleased to see this new facility join our worldwide network of final assembly sites which will comprise four FALs in Hamburg, Germany; two in Toulouse, France; two in Mobile, United States; and two in Tianjin, China, all them capable of assembling the A321,” commented Guillaume Faury, chief executive, Airbus.
Airbus has claimed that the new FAL has a variety of innovation features like digital production control using tablets and smartphones to reduce paper consumption, automated logistics for parts distribution and light-weight robots for joining sections.
The new FAL started initial operations at the end of 2022 with the delivery of the first fuselage sections. The roll-out of the first aircraft fully assembled in this facility - an A321 - is expected to take place by the end of this year. The industrial site will progressively ramp up operations between now and 2025, directly employing around 700 workers.