Editing Airbus A380 (section)

===Production===
[[File:Transport A380 en.svg|thumb|upright=1.05|Geographical logistics sequence for the A380, with final assembly in [[Toulouse]]|alt=Diagram showing flow of aircraft part in western Europe. Land is white, sea is pale blue]]

Major structural sections of the A380 are built in France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Due to the sections' large size, traditional transportation methods proved unfeasible,<ref name=moral>Morales, Jesus. {{cite web |url=http://www.akl.tu-darmstadt.de/media/arbeitskreis_luftverkehr/downloads_6/kolloquien/13kolloquium/05druckvorlage_morales.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=7 February 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017005137/http://www.akl.tu-darmstadt.de/media/arbeitskreis_luftverkehr/downloads_6/kolloquien/13kolloquium/05druckvorlage_morales.pdf |archive-date=17 October 2013}} "The A380 Transport Project and Logistics – Assessment of alternatives", p. 19, ''Airbus'', 18 January 2006. Retrieved 15 April 2012.</ref> so they are taken to the ''Jean-Luc Lagardère Plant'' assembly hall in [[Toulouse]], France, by specialised road and water transportation, though some parts are moved by the [[Airbus Beluga|A300-600ST ''Beluga'']] transport aircraft.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Airbus delivers first A380 fuselage section from Spain|publisher=Airbus|date=6 November 2003|url=http://www.airbus.com/presscentre/pressreleases/press-release-detail/detail/airbus-delivers-first-a380-fuselage-section-from-spain/|access-date=1 July 2011|archive-date=4 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141004135701/http://www.airbus.com/presscentre/pressreleases/press-release-detail/detail/airbus-delivers-first-a380-fuselage-section-from-spain/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>[http://www.smithsonianchannel.com/shows/planes-that-changed-the-world/a380-superjumbo/1003707/3417629 "Planes that changed the World, Episode #3: A380 Superjumbo"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161107021700/http://www.smithsonianchannel.com/shows/planes-that-changed-the-world/a380-superjumbo/1003707/3417629 |date=7 November 2016}}. Smithsonian Channel</ref> A380 components are provided by suppliers from around the world; the four largest contributors, by value, are [[Rolls-Royce plc|Rolls-Royce]], [[Safran]], [[United Technologies Corporation|United Technologies]] and [[General Electric]].<ref name="ms_a380_debate_20060905">{{Cite news |last= Scott Babka |title= EADS: the A380 Debate |publisher= [[Morgan Stanley]] |date= 5 September 2006 |url= https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283720958}}</ref>

For the surface movement of large A380 structural components, a complex route known as the [[Itinéraire à Grand Gabarit]] was developed. This involved the construction of a fleet of [[roll-on/roll-off]] (RORO) ships and barges, the construction of port facilities and the development of new and modified roads to accommodate oversized road convoys.<ref name="aw200905">{{Cite news|title=Convoi Exceptionnel|work=Airliner World|date=May 2009|publisher=Key Publishing Ltd}}</ref> The front and rear fuselage sections are shipped on one of three RORO ships from [[Hamburg]] in northern Germany to [[Saint-Nazaire]] in France. The ship travels via [[Mostyn]], [[Wales]], where the wings are loaded.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.airbus.com/newsroom/press-releases/en/2004/06/a380-special-transport-ship-in-hamburg-for-the-first-time.html|title=A380: Special Transport Ship in Hamburg for the First Time|publisher=Airbus Press Centre|date=9 June 2004|access-date=22 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080312222417/http://www.airbus.com/en/presscentre/pressreleases/pressreleases_items/10_jun_04_topping_out_ceremony.html|archive-date=12 March 2008}}</ref> The wings are manufactured at [[Broughton, Flintshire|Broughton]] in North Wales, then transported by [[barge]] to Mostyn docks for ship transport.<ref name="fi_20030520_production">{{Cite news|title=Towards Toulouse |work=Flight International |date=20 May 2003 |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/towards+toulouse-165712/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111134626/http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/towards%2Btoulouse-165712/ |archive-date=11 November 2012 |access-date=30 December 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Drone footage of Airbus A380 Wings moved from the factory in Broughton Deeside, Wales to Mostyn.webm|thumb|Drone footage of a wing being transported from its factory at [[Broughton, Flintshire|Broughton]], [[Wales]], down the [[River Dee, Wales|River Dee]] to Mostyn, and onwards to France, March 2020]]
[[File:A380 transport Port de Bordeaux.jpg|thumb|A380 components on a barge]]
In Saint-Nazaire, the ship exchanges the fuselage sections from Hamburg for larger, assembled sections, some of which include the nose. This ship unloads in [[Bordeaux]]. It then goes to pick up the belly and tail sections from [[Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA]] in [[Cádiz]], Spain, and delivers them to Bordeaux. From there, the A380 parts are transported by barge to [[Langon, Gironde|Langon]], and by oversize road convoys to the assembly hall in [[Toulouse]].<ref name="A380 convoys">{{Cite news|title=A380 convoys|publisher=IGG.FR|date=28 October 2007|url=http://www.igg.fr/|access-date=30 December 2011}}</ref> To avoid damage from direct handling, parts are secured in custom jigs carried on self-powered wheeled vehicles.<ref name=moral/>

After assembly, the aircraft are flown to the [[Airbus Hamburg-Finkenwerder]] plant to be furnished and painted. Airbus sized the production facilities and [[supply chain]] for a production rate of four A380s per month.<ref name="fi_20030520_production"/>