Airbus opens second A320 Family final assembly line in China

Airbus (Toulouse, France) has opened its second final assembly line (FAL) for the A320 Family aircraft in Tianjin, China. This milestone follows an earlier agreement signed in April 2023 by Airbus CEO, Guillaume Faury and the Tianjin Free Trade Zone Investment Co. Ltd. and Aviation Industry Corp. of China Ltd. Preparations to assemble the first aircraft are underway and full operation of the facility is targeted for early 2026.

“We welcome the addition of Tianjin’s second line to our global production system, as it provides us with the necessary flexibility and capacity to deliver on our plan to assemble 75 A320 Family aircraft per month in 2027,” says Faury. “Over the past 40 years of our presence here in the country, we have come a long way in establishing trustful partnerships with the China civil aviation community, and we look forward to writing the next chapters of our future together.”

The FAL line will enable Airbus to significantly increase production close to its customers in China and beyond. It complements the global Airbus production network of 10 FALs — four in Hamburg (Germany), two in Toulouse (France), two in Mobile, Alabama in the U.S. and two in Tianjin (China). The advanced second line features Airbus’ latest technologies and processes to produce aircraft worldwide at the same company’s highest standards. In addition, the facility takes advantage of electricity from renewable sources, reclaimed water and geothermal energy to support the company’s sustainability roadmap, reducing Airbus’ environmental footprint.

Inaugurated in 2008, the Airbus Tianjin FAL was the first Airbus production line for commercial aircraft outside Europe. It has assembled and delivered more than 780 A320 Family aircraft since then, making the facility a symbol of successful Sino-European cooperation.