Airbus to partially resume production in France and Spain

On Sunday, Airbus announced that it will partially resume production and assembly work in France and Spain on Monday after it halted production for 4 days.

An Airbus A330neo operating a flying display at the Paris Air Show. Photo by Karam Sodhi │ AeroNewsX

Airbus halted production and assembly works for health and safety checks after the implementation of stringent hygiene measure to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Airbus said in a statement: "Airbus has carried out extensive work in coordination with its social partners to ensure health and safety of its employees, while securing business continuity. The implementation of these measures required a temporary pause in production and assembly activities at the French and Spanish sites for a period of four days."

Airbus Chief Executive Officer, Guillaume Faury, said: "Health and safety is our number one priority at Airbus so the work stations at our sites in France and Spain will only re-open if they meet the required standards".

In February 2020, the Airbus assembly line in Tianjin also halted production and assembly with China being the epicenter of the outbreak. The assembly line in Tianjin was closed due to the virus outbreak affecting the import of logistics into Tianjin, making it hard for Airbus to keep the assembly line running.

Airbus has several production facilities and assembly lines in different regions of Europe and Asia. The French factories manufacture cockpit section and central wing boxes for all Airbus planes. Airbus builds the tail section and assembles the Airbus A400M in Spain and Airbus's wings are made in the UK whilst the fuselage is produced in Germany. Airbus also has other assembly lines in Hamburg, Mobile and Tianjin.

Airbus is also taking the initiative to support those at the frontline of the COVID-19 crisis. Airbus donated thousands of face masks to hospitals around Europe and has started to use its test aircraft to deliver medical supplies. A first flight with Airbus's test A330-800neo aircraft has transported approximately 2 million masks from Tianjin back to Europe over the weekend and more flights are scheduled to take place.

Faury said: "At the same time we are doing all we can to support those on the frontline to fight the coronavirus and limit its spread. We try to live up to our values, humbled by the complexity of the situation, and contribute as much as we can to society in these very difficult times."