Plane giant Airbus is reportedly facing a £156 million fine for late delivery of its A380 superjumbo.

It has again postponed delivery of the first A380 jumbo jet to China Southern Airlines, to 2011 this time, and will have to pay up to $250m in compensation to the carrier for the delay.

The A380 planes' wings, landing gear and fuel systems are made by Airbus and manufacturing partner GKN at Filton, where around 1,000 staff jointly work on the project. The first A380 was previously scheduled to debut in Guangzhou before the Asian Games, to be hosted by the city from Nov 11 to 27, 2010.

When the other four ordered by China Southern will be delivered remains unknown.

All five had been scheduled for delivery by 2011. Sources said that the delivery had been delayed again due to the insufficiency of client resources, a technological issue concerning the aircraft and unsatisfactory airport equipment.

Although Airbus changed its delivery schedule for the A380 in June, it is also faced with delays on deliveries by existing customers.

In July, the Evening Post reported that British Airways is delaying a £4 billion order for 12 of the A380 Airbus superjumbo planes. The news came as the airline announced plans to borrow £600m to stay in business.

BA paid out nearly £3bn in fuel costs last year due to rising oil prices, while the recession has also hit demand for flights.

The decision means the last of the 12 A380 aircraft – which will cost BA around £330m each – will be delivered up to two years late.

An Airbus spokesman declined to comment on details of contracts.