Airbus: Building work set to start at Broughton on Beluga Loading Bay

Work on a new state of the art loading bay for the Airbus Beluga Super Transporter at the Broughton plant is due to commence at the end of July.

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The new “Beluga Line Station” will help reduce weather-related delays to loading the aircraft.

The main door for the vast 1,400m³ main cargo deck on the Beluga cannot be opened in winds exceeding 30 knots so a new “line station” is being built to reduce the impact of strong winds on the transport schedule.

The start of construction follows extensive infrastructure works at Broughton, including re-routing of roads on the site, building a new taxiway and preparing foundations and a base for the building.

Stephen Fowles, Head of Buildings and Construction for the UK said:

“We are often at the mercy of the weather, so this new building will provide a sheltered loading bay which will mean we won’t always need to wait for the wind to drop before we can open the Beluga’s main door. It should reduce weather-related impact on the schedules.

“The vast majority of work will take place during the daytime, although some has to take place at night when the runway is not in use. While the site is well within the plant perimeter, we will be taking measures to ensure all work has minimal impact on nearby residents. We have been in contact with residents in the immediate vicinity and we’ve also contacted community leaders about the work.”

John Sisk and Sons has been appointed as principal contractor for the work. 

Five Beluga aircraft form the backbone of the Airbus transport operation and deliver the wings assembled at Broughton for the A320, A330 and A350 families to the final assembly lines in Toulouse and Hamburg, as well as ferrying components between Broughton and Airbus sites at Nantes and Saint-Nazaire in France, Hamburg and Bremen in Germany and Getafe in Spain.

More than £1.9billion has been invested in the Broughton plant over the last 15 years, and the Beluga Line Station is the latest example of Airbus’ commitment to maintaining state of the art manufacturing facilities.  Construction should be completed early 2015.”