UK industry set to benefit as Iran Air receives first of 100 Airbus aircraft
Iran Air has taken delivery of its first Airbus aircraft – an A321 - from an order of 100. The last time Iran took delivery of a new aircraft was in 1994.
The historic delivery is fantastic news for Airbus, the major order for 100 aircraft - worth approximately £1.7bn to the UK - will deliver major benefits to a significant number of companies across the UK.
Paul Everitt, Chief Executive of ADS said: “Congratulations to Airbus, this is great news for them and the many UK suppliers who are involved in producing this aircraft. The Iranian market provides a new and exciting opportunity for the global aerospace industry and demonstrates the robust demand for new aircraft and the services that support them.”
The A320 family is the most popular Airbus aircraft, seating up to 240 passengers, an aircraft from this family takes off and lands every 2 seconds. Since its introduction in 1988, more than 7,000 of the aircraft have been built; Airbus aims to ramp up production from 50 rolling off the production line per month to 60 by the end of the decade.
UK industry has a significant involvement in the A320 family:
- The East Factory at Airbus’ Broughton facility conducts final assembly of the wings of the A320, supporting 2,500 jobs at Airbus and 7,500 throughout the wider Airbus supply chain in the UK.
- Over £100m is being invested over the next few years in the A320 family wing assembly line at Broughton - in order to equip the factory with new, semi-automated pulse line technology systems to improve efficiency and ensure readiness for a ramp-up in production levels.
- UK companies supply tires, communication antennas and flight control actuators across the A320 family.
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