Airbus makes new line official

MOBILE, Ala. - Airbus officially announced Monday that it plans to open a second A320 final assembly line in Mobile, where it also has an A220 jetliner assembly line. Groundbreaking is set for later this year or early next year with the first planes due off the new line in 2025. Airbus says it will hire a thousand additional employees, bringing its total workforce at the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley to 2,500 people by 2025. “This is going to make Mobile, when we’re up and running with all the final assembly lines running, the fourth largest aviation center in the world,” said Airbus Americas Chairman and CEO Jeff Knittel. The announcement comes as the aviation industry rebounds after a two-year COVID slowdown. Airbus says the new final assembly line will help the company push out 75 aircraft a month worldwide. Mayor Sandy Stimpson believes this announcement could lead to greater things ahead. “Just the size they’ll be now you’ll really see suppliers seriously considering coming here to this region now whereas in the past maybe it wasn’t quite the production level to warrant that,” he said. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, along with Airbus, Mobile and education leaders, attended the afternoon announcement. Airbus produced the first Alabama-built A320 aircraft in 2015, and it launched production of the A220 single-aisle passenger jet in Mobile during 2019. (Sources: FOX10, Governor's Office, 05/09/22) Previous