Airbus is repurposing the wing production hall at its Broughton site in North Wales, previously used for A380 wings, into a new A321 assembly line. The conversion, scheduled for completion by the end of 2026, will add six wing production jigs, an equipping line and a paint shop. The move is aimed at addressing a backlog of roughly 7,500 A320 Family orders, around 75% of which are for the A321 variant.
The hall fell idle after Airbus ended A380 production in 2021 as demand for very large aircraft declined. Its conversion supports Airbus's broader push to raise single-aisle output to a rate of 75 aircraft per month. The first wing has already begun production on the new line, and all six jigs are expected to be running by year-end.
Airbus says the project has created about 480 new jobs across Broughton in 2026, with 250 of these based in the refurbished hall, adding to the site's existing 6,000-strong workforce. Broughton, which Airbus refers to as its "Home of Wings," also produces wings for the A321XLR long-range variant and hosts research into future wing technology.
The Broughton investment follows a separate multi-million-pound upgrade at Airbus's Belfast facility, which expanded wing manufacturing and composite capabilities for the A220.
Source: Aerospace Testing International — read the original article