Airbus awards aircraft cargo door contract to Tatas; takes overall supply from India to $735 mn annually

NEW DELHI: European aerospace major Airbus has awarded a contract to Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) to manufacture cargo and bulk cargo doors of the A320neo aircraft family. TASL will produce these doors at a new facility in Hyderabad using cutting-edge robotics and automation technology. Each shipset will include two cargo doors and one bulk cargo door.

Airbus (India and south Asia) president & MD Rémi Maillard said: “When it comes to supporting the development of India’s industrial capacities, Airbus is walking the talk. The latest contract underlines our continued commitment to ‘make-in-India’ for an aatma nirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India). In TASL, we have a most trusted and able partner that will support the ramp-up of our A320neo family aircraft that has been the poster child of democratisation and transformation of India's aviation sector. We will continue to grow our industrial footprint and the aviation and aerospace ecosystem at a fast pace in India.”

TASL MD & CEO Sukaran Singh said: “We have an ongoing relationship with Airbus based on trust and operational excellence, and this new contract win will further bolster our partnership in aerospace manufacturing in India.”

Airbus presently procures components and services worth $735 million every year from more than 100 Indian suppliers. Today, every Airbus commercial aircraft and every Airbus helicopter has critical technologies and systems designed, manufactured and maintained in India. In addition, Airbus will build the C295 military aircraft final assembly line (FAL) with TASL in Gujarat, the first concrete, large-scale make-in-India manufacturing aerospace programme in the private sector.

Together with its supply chain, Airbus says it supports nearly 10,000 jobs in India as of now — a number that will increase 50% by 2025. The C295 military aircraft programme will lead to the creation of another 25,000 direct and indirect jobs over a decade, it says.