Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch have welcomed a momentous deal for Airbus to provide 220 aircraft for Turkish Airlines, which will be worth billions of pounds to the UK. The deal includes 150 A321 aircraft and 70 A350 family aircraft, the engines for which will be provided by Rolls-Royce.
The agreement announced by the companies today (15 December) in Istanbul will support thousands of high-skilled jobs across the UK, helping to boost exports and grow the economy.
A significant portion of the manufacturing process for the new aircraft is expected to take place in the UK. All the wings will be designed in Filton, Bristol, and assembled in North Wales, supporting hundreds of manufacturing jobs in the UK aerospace supply chain.
The new A350 aircraft will also be exclusively powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines, which are assembled and tested in Derby, and will deliver 25 percent lower CO2 emissions compared to previous generation aircraft.
In 2022 the UK’s world-class aerospace sector contributed £10.9 billion to the UK economy, exported around 70 percent of its domestic output and directly employed 108,000 high-skilled people, 90 percent of which are outside London and the South East. It is also a leading sector for high value apprenticeships, with 5,200 currently employed in sector.