Next hop for iconic Islander
Last week, William Hynett (left), CEO of the British aircraft manufacturer Britten-Norman, and Bob Seely, MP for the Isle of Wight, opened the production line of the sub-regional aircraft Islander, having shifted its manufacturing back to the UK.
This milestone is the culmination of years of strategic planning and follows the announcement in June that new aircraft production was to be fully repatriated to its flagship manufacturing site in Bembridge.
The iconic Islander aircraft, variants of which have been manufactured by the company for over 50 years, including a freight configuration with 1-1.6 t of cargo capacity, will be built in the UK for the first time since production was moved to Eastern Europe in the 1960s. The first UK Islander aircraft now in production is due for completion in May 2024. (ah)