Airbus A380 wing journey – new panel in Connah`s Quay tells the story

Airbus, in partnership with Flintshire Countryside Service, has unveiled two new information panels along the Wales Coast Path.

Judith Stringfellow, Community Engagement Manager for Airbus; Cllr Bernie Attridge, Deputy Leader of Flintshire Council and Cabinet Member for Environment; Mike Taylor, Senior Countryside Ranger and Jo Danson, of Wow Factor Interpretation, designer of the panels.

The panels, sponsored by the aircraft manufacturer, depict the journey of the A380 wings from the Airbus factory in Broughton where they are made, to the Port of Mostyn and their onward journey to the final assembly line in Toulouse.

The first panel, situated at Connah’s Quay, shows the first part of the journey from the factory to the River Dee and then down the river to the Port of Mostyn.  As the A380 wings are so large, they do not fit on the “Beluga” aircraft usually used for transporting wings.

The second panel, situated at Greenfield Dock, continues to story of the journey from the Port of Mostyn onto France.

Judith Stringfellow, Community Engagement Manager for Airbus, said,

“As the A380 wings are so large, we had to come up with another way of transporting them to the final assembly line and using the river proved an ideal solution.  The journey is heavily dependent on the tides but, despite this, it is still the most effective way for us to transport these wings.

“As we support Flintshire Countryside Service on the great work done along Flintshire’s coast and coastal path, we wanted to show how important the river is to our business.”

Mike Taylor, Senior Ranger with the countryside service, said,

“Airbus has contributed to the ongoing sense of place on the river Dee by providing these two panels and two benches for the viewpoints which offer excellent river and sea views.”

Airbus will also be supporting the Big Dee Day this year on 20 and 21 September by providing a team of volunteers to clear a section of the riverbank near the Airbus loading bay and also sponsoring a team of sea cade