Proving its ability to react and adapt, the Aerostructures branch was selected in the middle of the pandemic to lead the project to reindustrialise the passenger staircase of the VIP version of the Airbus Corporate Jets (ACJ) A320, an XXL-sized business jet that connects the major capitals non-stop. The first delivery is scheduled for June 2021.

On board the aircraft, the 4-metre-high electromechanical staircase folds and retracts into the hold, under the door. It is standard equipment, present on all models of this range of aircraft. This equipment provides greater autonomy in airports where the aircraft may be required to land, and therefore greater freedom of operation.

The production of the staircase is mainly internalised, and relies on the complementarity of the Latecoere sites. The Toulouse-Montredon (France) and Prague (Czech Republic) factories produce some of the elementary parts, and final assembly is carried out in Gimont (France). It is also an inter-branch project since the Interconnection Systems teams work on the electrical aspects of the staircase.