Airbus A220 aircraft doors to be manufactured in Bengaluru under ‘Make in India’

Under the agreement, the Bengaluru-based Dynamatic Technologies will manufacture and assemble the cargo, passenger and service doors along with the over-wing emergency exit doors for the A220 family aircraft

New Delhi: Airbus will manufacture and assemble aircraft doors of the A220 family in Bengaluru, thus giving a significant push to the government’s ‘Make In India’ vision, the company announced on Thursday as it signed an agreement with Bengaluru-based Dynamatic Technologies in presence of Union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia in New Delhi. The first set of doors will be delivered by early next year, Airbus said.

Bengaluru-based Dynamatic Technologies and Airbus signed an agreement to make all door variants for the French planemaker’s A220 planes in presence of Union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia (Twitter/@PIB_India)

The Union civil aviation minister unveiled Airbus’s significant expansion in its ‘Make-in-India’ initiative during a momentous.

“India is steadily becoming a destination for aerospace manufacturing across the world. The largest order for the aircraft doors to Dynamatic technologies, which is already working with Airbus, is a great moment in the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s resolve to Make in India,” Scindia said.

Under the agreement, the Bengaluru-based Dynamatic Technologies will manufacture and assemble the cargo, passenger and service doors along with the over-wing emergency exit doors for the A220 family aircraft (eight doors per aircraft).

The doors contract includes manufacturing detailed parts components, which will create downstream opportunities for the other Indian suppliers.

To be sure, A220 aircraft are not operated by any of the airlines- at present. However, a statement by the government read, “With a range of up to 3,600 nautical miles (6,700 kilometres) and seating capacity ranging from 100 to 160 passengers, the A220 is ideally suited for India’s Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme, aimed at enhancing regional connectivity and promoting economic growth across the nation”.

This is the second such door for an Indian firm. Tata Advanced Technologies got the first order for a different type of Airbus aircraft.

“India was not just a market for Airbu but a strategic hub...Last year we procured components and services worth $750 million.. our ambition is to double our sourcing in India to $1.5 billion in the coming year,” Maillard said.

Udayant Malhoutra, Dynamatic Technologies’ chief executive officer said that the company would deliver the first doors to Airbus early next year. “The industrialisation has already begun and we will be delivering the first (set of) doors next year…”

Talking about Airbus’ contribution to the Make in India mission, Scindia said, “The company is already exporting made-in-India products worth $750 million and aims to double it in the next year or so. From a management centre that has been India Information Management Center, Airbus India Innovation Center to a pilot training centre, there has been a tremendous investment both in technology transfer as well as human resource development in India by Airbus. Also, I thank Airbus for strengthening the Indo-France ties.”