Korean Air Signs Follow-up Contract with Airbus for A350 Cargo Doors

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Je-hoon] Korean Air recently announced on the 21st that it has signed a contract with Airbus Helicopters, a subsidiary of Airbus, for the supply of additional A350 aircraft cargo doors. Through this contract, Korean Air will be able to deliver an additional 400 A350 aircraft cargo doors to Airbus.

In this regard, Korean Air signed a development and supply contract in 2011 for a total of 800 A350 aircraft cargo doors, successfully developed them the following year, and has delivered about 500 units to date.

The A350 cargo doors designed and developed by Korean Air consist of three doors: front, rear, and bulk cargo doors. According to the company, cargo doors are major composite structural parts of the fuselage directly related to flight safety, requiring advanced technology such as high precision and the design of actuators for door opening and closing.

Through this contract, Korean Air also plans to jointly develop 3D printing parts with Airbus and Airbus Helicopters, using this as an opportunity to advance aircraft parts manufacturing technology to the next level.

Korean Air stated, "By strengthening the partnership with Airbus in the future, we plan to actively create additional business opportunities and secure competitiveness in advanced manufacturing technologies for metal and composite parts."