Piyush Goyal Meets Airbus Chief to Boost Aviation Ties

• Piyush Goyal, Airbus chief discuss deeper investment in India
• IndiGo, Air India place record aircraft deals with Airbus
• New Gurugram center to train 5,000 pilots in 10 years

Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal met with the Airbus Chairman, Rene Obermann, to gain a perspective of the Indian aviation sector and discuss increased collaboration with the global aerospace player. The Piyush Goyal Airbus meeting highlighted opportunities to strengthen India Airbus aviation ties and explore new partnerships.

"Welcomed the @Airbus Board, led by their Chairman, Mr. Rene Obermann to India. We had an engaging discussion on the tremendous opportunities offered by Bharat and the strong, growing partnership between Airbus and India's aviation sector", the minister stated in his social media post.

Minister Goyal urged Airbus to increase investments in India while highlighting the company's demonstrated investment interest as a potential engine for growth in the aerospace and aviation ecosystem in India. During the Airbus chairman India visit, both sides discussed strategies to enhance India aviation collaboration and boost the Piyush Goyal aviation industry agenda.

The engagement is one more step in the direction toward building India as a global innovation center and manufacturing and training hub for aerospace. Airbus boasts a strong presence in India through its associations with major airlines.

In 2023, IndiGo claimed a place in history by ordering 500 Airbus A320 family aircraft-the largest single order placed in the entire history of Airbus and for any airline in the world. The order was placed during the Paris Air Show and delivery shall take place from 2030 to 2035.

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Prior to this, Air India also had raised complaints about letting Airbus in, ordering for 100 Airbus aircraft consisting of 10 widebody A350s and 90 A320 family aircraft, thus testifying to the centrality of Airbus in the story of growth in Indian aviation.

Airbus is a European aerospace giant designing and manufacturing commercial aircraft, helicopters, military planes, satellites, and space systems.

Airbus is the world's largest commercial passenger aircraft manufacturing company, sharing the competition with Boeing across the states. It is also involved in joint collaboration with India in manufacturing, maintenance, and training programs, fostering a domestic aerospace value chain.

Recently, the partners inaugurated the Airline Pilot Training Centre at the AirIndia Aviation Training Academy at Gurugram in Haryana with top simulation facilities.

Over the next ten years, this training will cater to more than 5,000 new pilots, supporting the exponential growth of commercial aviation in India. With this ongoing cooperation, Airbus stands to assume a more pivotal role in India's aerospace ambitions.