Airbus has issued a fresh warning to A350 customers that delivery delays for the long-haul widebody jet will now stretch into 2030, with the manufacturer's commercial aircraft division CEO Lars Wagner confirming the slip during a May 20, 2026 industry briefing. The principal bottleneck remains the supply of fuselage components built at the former Spirit AeroSystems facility in North Carolina, a plant Airbus formally acquired earlier in the cycle.
Wagner told customers that fuselage barrel production at the North Carolina site has not yet stabilised at the rates required to support Airbus's A350 production targets. As a result, several deliveries that had been forecast for 2027β2029 will now slide further to the right, with the worst cases extending into 2030.
A350 Delivery Status
By the end of April 2026, Airbus had delivered 714 A350s in total, with just 15 delivered year-to-date β a pace well below the 60-plus annual figure required to clear the backlog. The A350-1000 has been particularly affected, with several major customers including Qantas, JAL, Etihad and Cathay Pacific facing delays on fleet renewal plans.
Beyond the A350, the manufacturer also confirmed continued one-to-two month delays across the A320neo family, which it expects to persist through 2028. Pratt & Whitney GTF engine issues and tier-one supplier constraints remain the primary drivers on the narrow-body side.
Implications for Airlines and Boeing
The 2030 horizon is significant. It pushes A350 backlog clearance into the same window in which Boeing expects to begin substantial 777-9 deliveries. For airlines that built fleet plans around switching from older 777-300ERs to A350-1000s, the slip implies a further extension of expensive lease arrangements and continued reliance on aircraft they had planned to retire.
Airbus did, however, deliver a positive note: in April 2026 the manufacturer completed the first main-deck cargo door for the A350F freighter at its Illescas facility in Spain β a 4.3 metre clear opening that opens the door, literally, to the freighter variant's entry into service later this decade.
Compiled from publicly available aviation news sources. Featured image: AI-generated by AviationShop. This article is original editorial content; facts have been verified across multiple public sources.
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