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Birmingham Post
Birmingham Post
Business
Owen Hughes

Future of giant A380 Airbus factory under discussion as final wings set to leave this year

Airbus is in discussions about what to with its £350m wing factory for the A380 with the final wings to leave the site later this year.

The West Factory was opened in 2003, and was the largest factory built in the UK for years.

It could house 1,200 staff over the huge floorspace - the equivalent to 12 full size football pitches.

The site assembles the wings for the 555 seater A380 before they were transported by barge and ship to Toulouse in France.

Airbus superjumbo A380 wing making journey from Broughton (Cwmni Da)

But last February Airbus announced the programme would be ended as orders dried up for the jumbo jet.

The final wings of the A380 will leave the site in the first half of 2020 and production for that particular plane end at the mammoth factory.

The good news is that there is huge demand for other Airbus planes, particularly aircraft from the A320 and A350 families.

Last week Airbus announced that a final assembly line for production of the A321 would be built at Toulouse - replacing the current Airbus A380 facility by mid-2022.

It sparked the possibility that the site at Broughton could have a similar fate but plant bosses insist no decision has been made.

A spokesman told North Wales Live: "Today's A321 FAL announcement for Toulouse is not linked to, nor sets any precedent for the Broughton plant.   

"We are still to define a future use for the West Factory, and are discussing options as part of the site strategy."

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