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Airbus is alerting its airline customers to a quality defect that could reduce corrosion resistance inside the fuselage structure of hundreds of A321neos, affecting both already delivered aircraft and single-aisles still in its factories, people familiar with the matter tell The Air Current.
The quality lapse, which has not been previously reported, does not represent a safety issue for Airbus operators or the flying public, but is understood to affect more than 500 aircraft, said the people who asked not to be identified discussing confidential matters. Roughly 250 jets at various stages of completion within Airbus’s supply chain in Europe, the U.S. and China are impacted, including A321neos waiting to be delivered.
The issue is likely to put pressure on medium-term deliveries as Airbus progresses through rework on the affected aircraft already in its production system. If not resolved by Airbus prior to delivery, aircraft will require in-service inspections and rework over the coming years, the people said.
Airbus confirmed to TAC that the issue originated with an undisclosed Tier 2 supplier applying insufficient corrosion protection to aircraft structures, explaining “that during some standard rework a surface protection deviation on stringers located at the lower front section of the fuselage was identified affecting a number of A321 aircraft.”
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The quality lapse is the latest production headache for the European plane maker as it works to stably accelerate A320 family aircraft production to 75 jets per month. Airbus has also grappled with engine shortages and improperly fabricated fuselage panels that have left it behind pace to reach the midpoint of its 2026 targeted delivery range of between 850 and 890 total aircraft. The European plane maker has so far reported 475 deliveries through the end of August and will report its September shipments early next month as it begins the perennial fourth-quarter surge of deliveries.
TAC understands that Airbus at this point does not expect any change in its full-year delivery guidance as a result of its latest quality lapse.
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