Airbus board members end 4-day visit to India

New Delhi: Airbus board members wrapped up a four-day visit to India on Thursday, underscoring the country’s growing importance to the aerospace major.

The visit, which began on September 29, also marked the board’s first meeting in India since Airbus began operations here over six decades ago.

During the trip, Airbus Chairman Rene Obermann met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu & Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. Goyal said discussions centred on investments and deepening collaboration in India’s aerospace sector.

The delegation toured Tata Advanced Systems Ltd’s facility in Hyderabad and supplier Dynamatic Technologies in Bengaluru.

On September 30, Airbus and Air India announced a joint venture to set up a pilot training facility in Haryana with an investment of over Rs 1,000 crore. Airbus sources over $1.4 billion annually in components and services from India, with plans to scale this further.

The firm is also setting up Final Assembly Lines (FALs) for H125 helicopters in Karnataka and C295 military aircraft in Gujarat with Tata Advanced Systems. Indian carriers, led by IndiGo & Air India, have placed orders for over 1,000 Airbus aircraft, reinforcing the firm’s long-term commitment to the country.