Airbus to Offer Freight Mod for A330, A350 Cabins – Aviation International News

Airbus has begun developing a modification for A330 and A350 family widebodies designed to allowairlines to install freight pallets directly onto the cabin floor seat tracks, after removal of the economy-class seats, the company said Thursday.

Meant to alleviate the global shortage of belly-freight air cargo capacity due to the widespread grounding of long-haul aircraft during the Covid-19 pandemic, the development will also help the industry address the high demand for humanitarian flights to rapidly transport large quantities of medical equipment and other supplies over large distances.

The Airbus modification facilitates easier and quicker loading and unloading operations compared with loading cargo onto seats, as well as reduced wear to the seats themselves, the company said. Other benefits include robust fire protection and 9g load restraint capability to prevent anything from shifting in flight.

Airbus plans to make the modification available as a service bulletin, meaning the manufacturer defines the needed engineeringworkand manages the process for obtaining the one-time certification from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

The programs scope includes the removal of the seats and in-flight entertainment systems, installation of cargo pallets and associated safety equipment, and the re-installation of the original passenger cabin elements for reverting back to passenger operations.

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Airbus to Offer Freight Mod for A330, A350 Cabins - Aviation International News