The decision by Airbus to boost jet production is one of the strongest signals yet that the aviation industry is recovering from the pandemic — but it will be a key test on the health of its supply chain.
For an industry still recovering from the Covid-19 crisis, China’s lockdown disrupting supplies of goods and materials and inflationary pressures forcing up costs, the ramp-up in production comes at a critical time.
It is also a significant industrial and logistical challenge. Each Airbus aircraft is made up of roughly 3mn parts and the company receives more than 1.7mn every day at its plants across the world from roughly 3,000 suppliers for all of its civil programmes.