Airbus delivery delays jam parking spaces, hamper cash flow

PARIS, April 19 (Reuters) - A growing backlog of Airbus undelivered passengers jets, stranded outside their factories due to supplier problems, is putting pressure on the planemaker's cash generation for the start of the year, industry sources and analysts said.

After a slow first quarter in deliveries, parking space at Toulouse airport in France, and at Hamburg in Germany, is increasingly congested due to undelivered jets, according to industry sources and recent Reuters photographs in Toulouse.

The number of A320neo passenger jets standing without engines and waiting for delivery, due to technical problems and delays at engine maker Pratt & Whitney, has risen to more than two dozen, two industry sources said.

That could tie up around a billion euros in cash, a senior aviation finance source said, asking not to be identified.

Airbus A350 deliveries also continue to be delayed due to shortages of cabin equipment, the sources said. Reuters observed at least six A350s parked waiting for delivery in Toulouse.

Airbus declined to comment on specific airplanes but said it remained confident of meeting its published delivery targets. (Reporting by Tim Hepher; editing by Laurence Frost)