'New delay' to Airbus super-jumbo

BAE has already warned that Airbus may face further delays

European planemaker Airbus has been hit by further reports that it could announce another delay in the production of its A380 super-jumbo.

French newspaper Les Echos reported on Wednesday that Airbus would reveal more A380 delivery delays within days.

Airbus parent EADS said it was still reviewing the A380 programme, but its shares had fallen 1.5% by 0835 GMT.

Last week the head of BAE Systems, which is selling its stake in Airbus, warned of the risk of further delays.

Board meeting

Les Echos said that Airbus would say that it could only deliver four A380s in 2007, missing its revised target of nine aircraft.

An Airbus spokesperson said that an internal audit was still underway and there would be no comment until an EADS board meeting on 29 September.

In June, Airbus announced a six-month delay in A380 deliveries due to problems with the aircraft's wiring.

The delays sparked a crisis which claimed the scalps of two top executives at Airbus and EADS.

The A380, which has cost 12bn euros ($14bn; £8bn) to develop, will be the world's largest airliner - able to seat more than 800 passengers.