Malaysian airline Air Asia has positioned an order for 150 Airbus A220s, the wings of that are made in Belfast.
It’s the single largest order ever made for the A220 and takes whole orders past 1,000.
Other than the wings, Belfast’s Airbus operation additionally makes the mid-fuselage [centre section of the aircraft body] for the A220.
The Airbus plant is considered one in every of Northern Eire’s most essential manufacturing amenities using about 1,500 individuals and supporting extra jobs within the native provide chain.
Airbus purchased the manufacturing facility in 2025, as a part of a wider deal which led to the break up of Spirit Aerosystems.
Rival producer Boeing additionally purchased a few of Spirit’s Belfast belongings and now employs the vast majority of the three,500 workers on the web site.
Earlier this 12 months, the Airbus chief government mentioned the corporate was “committing lots of money” to Belfast to help the ramp up of A220 manufacturing.
Guillaume Faury mentioned the plant additionally needed to present it could possibly be extra aggressive.
“It is crucial to achieve success on the ramp-up, to be with a excessive degree of high quality, and to be aggressive.
“That is what we wish for Belfast, however we depend as effectively on the workers and the administration of Belfast to contribute to the A220 and to be with a entrance foot ahead to contribute to a superb program.”
Tony Fernandes, the entrepreneur behind Air Asia, mentioned the vary of A220 would permit the airline to serve new locations.
“The A220 unlocks new markets and routes and brings us nearer to constructing the world’s first true low-cost community provider,” he added.
There may be hypothesis within the aerospace trade that Airbus is on the verge of saying a “stretch” model of the A220.
The present A220 has a most passenger capability of 160 seats, whereas a “stretched” mannequin may take that nearer to 200.
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