Airbus Faces New Setback with A320 Aircraft Quality Issues

PARIS, France — Airbus announced on Monday that it has identified a quality issue affecting the fuselage panels of a limited number of A320-family aircraft. The discovery is the latest setback for the European planemaker, following a software glitch that recently grounded many jets.

The company’s shares fell dramatically, dropping as much as 10% during trading, as investors reacted to the news of the industrial problem. By 1345 GMT, shares were down 5.6%, reflecting heightened concerns among traders.

In an emailed statement, an Airbus spokesperson said the company is inspecting all potentially affected aircraft and noted that only a small percentage of those will require further actions. “The source of the issue has been identified, contained, and all newly produced panels conform to all requirements,” the spokesperson confirmed, while stating it was a supplier issue without naming the supplier.

This revelation arrives as Airbus works diligently to meet ambitious delivery targets for the year. The company reported delivering 72 aircraft in November, but industry sources suggest that some of these deliveries are already being affected by the production flaw. So far this year, Airbus has delivered a total of 657 aircraft and aims to reach around 820 by year-end, which would require a record performance of over 160 deliveries in December.

Notably, the quality issue follows a recent recall of A320 jets due to a software bug that impacted the operational capacity of the fleet. The necessary modifications for these affected jets have largely been completed, according to Airbus.

Airbus’s challenges have also pulled down shares of airline customers such as Lufthansa and easyJet, indicating a ripple effect in the industry due to the news. Analysts are split on whether Airbus will meet its delivery targets, which are crucial for cash flow as airlines typically pay a significant portion of a plane’s value upon delivery.

Independent aviation analyst Rob Morris suggested that while Airbus could achieve around 800 deliveries, there is a risk of the final tally being slightly lower. “The underlying production is rising, but there is always a level of uncertainty,” he noted. As the year progresses, Airbus aims to mitigate these issues and ensure safety remains a priority amid production challenges.