Assembly

A 380
Production

Assembly

Major structural sections of the A380 are built in France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Due to their size, they are brought to the assembly hall in Toulouse in France by surface transportation.

Boat

The various elements of the A380 are assembled into sub-elements in different Airbus plants spread across Europe. These sub-components are then transported by sea or air to Saint-Nazaire, where they are pre-assembled.

The front, central and rear sections of the aircraft, two wings and tail are then routed back to Toulouse for final assembly.

Due to the size of the components, exceptional means of transport have been employed. For example, Airbus built a special boat, the Ville de Bordeaux, or used a Beluga to transport elements by air.

Once the aircraft is able to fly with its own wings, it is transported to the airport Hamburg-Finkenwerder in Germany for interior design, according to the wishes of the customer airlines.