Airbus
Problems at Hamburg facility in Germany would delay jet deliveries. Credit: Duch.

Cabling issues at Airbus’ Hamburg plant in Germany, where the jets are assembled, are leading to delays in jet deliveries.

For the last two years, Airbus has faced engine shortages, which has led to delays in jet deliveries. However, now the snags in the plant are delaying deliveries, exclusively reported Reuters.

According to consultants Flight Ascend, internal snags have meant that Airbus has had to deliver 76 single-aisle planes per month in the previous quarter, 9.6% higher than its earlier record.

Reuters reported that the airplane maker is ‘working flat out’ to achieve this year’s target of 800 aircraft deliveries.

A senior aeroplane buyer said: “They’re late; everyone is mad at them. They’ve been hiding behind the engine problems.”

“The airplane maker is ‘working flat out’ to achieve this year’s target of 800 aircraft deliveries.”

According to some industry sources, the problems at the facility may not be the only reason for the delays. The facility has been a ‘jigsaw of assembly plants’ while it introduces a new version of A321.

Airbus data indicates deliveries of large single-aisle A321 jets, primarily manufactured in Germany,  peaked in May as delayed engines started arriving, but the deliveries slowed down in September.

The aircraft maker is now introducing a new A321neo ACF version, which has a complex configuration.

A source told the news agency that the Hamburg plant was facing issues related to cabling the jets. Furthermore, increased production leads to quality problems, causing more delays in jet deliveries.

Airbus expressed confidence in meeting its single-aisle production goals of 60 per month spread across all its facilities in the middle of next year, an increase from the current 55.