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Airbus to double production capacity in China
Airbus is to install a second aircraft assembly line in Tianjin, doubling its production capacity for A320 family aircraft on Chinese soil.
The European aircraft manufacturer has just announced the doubling of its production capacity in China with the addition of a second assembly line.
“As the Chinese market continues to grow, it makes perfect sense for us to produce locally for Chinese airlines, and probably other customers in the region”, said Airbus Executive Chairman Guillaume Faury.
The new Final Assembly Line (FAL) is scheduled to come on stream in the second half of 2025.
Four machines a month today
Airbus has already had an A320 assembly line in Tianjin since 2008, which has produced more than 600 A320s. It currently produces four aircraft a month and is due to ramp up to six later this year.
The additional Chinese FAL will be an “important element in the Airbus production system with a view to reaching the rate of 75” A320s and A321s produced per month in 2026, compared with 43 in 2022, he explained. The aim is for the aircraft manufacturer to deliver as soon as possible the 7,300 or so aircraft in its order book, to customers who are often forced to wait several years.
Once this new FAL is in service, Airbus will have ten FALs worldwide: two in Tianjin, two in Mobile in the United States, two in Toulouse and four in Hamburg in Germany.
Source: LADEPECHE.FR
A.P. Moller – Maersk launches a new air cargo link between the United States and China
To meet its customers’ end-to-end logistics needs, A.P. Moller – Maersk (Maersk) is launching two new airfreight services with scheduled flights from the United States to China.
Maersk’s new customer-backed air corridor is expected to fill the connectivity gap between the world’s two largest markets for maritime customers, with solutions for time-sensitive and high-value cargo through new air services.
Maersk will start with two weekly flights between Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP) and Shenyang Taoxian International Airport (SHE) and two weekly flights between Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD) and Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport (HGH). These two services will be increased to three weekly flights from May 2023.
Maersk recently opened a new air cargo gateway in Chicago to add more supply chain integration opportunities for customers using Chicago O’Hare and Rockford International Airports.
The operation will be carried out with three recently acquired Boeing 767-300 freighter aircraft that have been added to the fleet of Maersk Air Cargo, Maersk’s in-house cargo airline, and will be operated by Amerijet International, the Miami-based cargo airline.
On 20 March, Maersk celebrated the inaugural flight of the logistics company’s new air cargo service with three scheduled weekly flights between Billund (BLL) and Hangzhou (HGH) operated by Maersk Air Cargo.
Maersk has also recently launched a new air cargo service
Source: MaritimeNews
Germany reconsiders its green light for a Chinese stake in the Port of Hamburg
The German government is reconsidering the authorisation it granted a few months ago to a Chinese group to acquire shares in a Hamburg port terminal, which has now been classified as “critical infrastructure”, Berlin has announced.
At the end of October, Germany decided to authorise the Chinese group Cosco’s controversial investment in a terminal at Germany’s leading commercial port. The share sold was limited to 24.9%.
Since this decision, the terminal concerned has been classified as “critical infrastructure” by the BSI, an independent German authority responsible for IT security.
Olaf Scholz’s choice
This ranking means that foreign shareholdings must be monitored more closely. The Chinese investment was defended by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the former mayor of Hamburg, against the advice of certain members of his government.
A compromise had to be reached, limiting the size of the stake, which was initially set at 35%. Hamburg is Germany’s largest port and the third largest in Europe behind Rotterdam and Antwerp. Cosco is the leading Chinese shipowner.
Germany’s leading economic partner and a vital market for its powerful automotive sector, Beijing has long been spared by Berlin, which has however been hardening its tone for over a year.
Green ministers are calling for greater firmness towards China, pointing to its recurrent threats against Taiwan and the abuses it is accused of against the Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region.
In November, Germany blocked the sale of two chip manufacturers to Chinese investors, due to security concerns surrounding this strategic production.
Source: L’antenne
The Moroccan-Spanish Joint Commission for fixed connectivity through the Strait of Gibraltar held its forty-third session
The Moroccan-Spanish Joint Commission for fixed connectivity through the Strait of Gibraltar held its forty-third session on Monday 10 April 2023, under the co-presidency of Mr Nizar Baraka, Minister for Infrastructure and Water, and Ms Raquel Sánchez Jimenez, Spanish Minister for Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda.
This joint committee, set up in accordance with the provisions of the Moroccan-Spanish cooperation agreements of 24 October 1980 and 27 September 1989, is the government body responsible for overseeing the project in both countries. In the same context, the Société nationale d’études des détroits au Maroc (SNED) and the Société espagnole d’étude des transports à travers le détroit de Gibraltar en Espagne (SECEGSA), responsible for the studies required for the project, were created.
This session was attended by the embassies of the Kingdom of Morocco in Madrid and the Kingdom of Spain in Rabat, members of the joint committee, as well as central officials from the Ministry of Public Works and Water and officials and executives from the two companies.
This 43rd session was organised by the Spanish government after a period of 14 years since the 42nd session in Tangiers on 29 October 2009, in application of the chapters of the two agreements, which stipulate the periodicity of its convocation with the two countries rotating to host it.
This desire was officially put into practice with the signing of the memorandum of understanding on infrastructure on the occasion of the meeting of the Moroccan-Spanish High Joint Commission held on 1 and 2 February 2023, where the permanent connectivity project received special attention from the government officials of both countries for their continued praise of the exemplary cooperation and their renewed commitment to it.
The main objective of this 43rd session is to define the main principles and axes of the joint work programme of the SNED and SECEGSA engineering companies by adopting a shared vision to mobilise the group of scientific and technical institutes at the national level of each country in a harmonious manner and at the international level for the optimal balance of the important achievements of exploration and studies at the highest level as well as the advancement of the project as enabled by technological developments and knowledge in related fields.
Source: MaritimeNews
