Toulouse. Visiting Airbus, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari gives his vision for the future of the aeronautics industry
Through Thibaut Calatayud
Published on
A visit to Airbus, this is the mandatory step during a visit by the Minister of Transport to Toulouse. Monday, November 22, 2021, at the end of his trip to the Pink City, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari therefore went to the final assembly line (FAL) of the A350 at Colomiers.
“Business has picked up very well at Airbus”
After listening to the presentation of Guillaume Pellegrino, the head of the FAL, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari quickly spoke with companions of the aircraft manufacturer who, like the rest of the aeronautical industry, suffered the full brunt of the effects of the crisis. But in recent months, everything seems to be taking off again.
“Activities have picked up very well within the Airbus group. There were announcements encouraged at the Dubai Air Show with more than 400 orders and firm commitments received by the group (269 firm orders and 139 commitments, editor’s note). These are very positive signs. We can say to ourselves that things are going rather well for French and European industry. But it is an effort which is continuous “.
At the Colomiers plant, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari also praised the efforts of Airbus to industrialize a new generation of less polluting aircraft and processes (SAF sustainable fuel, for example). He also said he was confident in the “medium-term” development of low-carbon aircraft: “All of this is already being built”.
“The consequences of the crisis are lasting”
While Airbus estimates at 39,000 the number of new aircraft to be produced by 2040, the minister thinks that the activity will certainly not be identical to that which we have already known. “We see that the consequences of the crisis are lasting. On business travel, for example, we notice that things take time to return to their 2019 level. We also see that certain geographical areas are still quite closed. I am thinking in particular of Asia, ”he analyzes.
Nevertheless, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari hopes that the vagaries of the Covid crisis will above all enable the entire aeronautics industry to “build strength and resilience, then not to stall on future investments and aviation as it is. is emerging: much more carbon-free over the decades ”.
“It is at the same time a very big effort to restart, to increase in load and in rhythm, then a continuous effort of investment with a State which fully plays to a part to move towards a carbon-free aviation”.
VR comes to the FAL
During his visit to the A350’s FAL, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari was also able to test a virtual reality headset offered by AKKA Technologies. The device must make it possible to facilitate the calibration of certain controls during the assembly of an aircraft.
The minister easily lent himself to the game. It was also perhaps the occasion for his staff to carry out a TikTok, he who is a regular user of this application where he is followed by more than 500,000 people.
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