By Kamal Shah
India’s aviation boom is entering a new, exciting phase driven by three forces: rapid fleet expansion, major infrastructure builds (220 airports by 2030) and a shift toward true global connectivity with more long‑haul routes and widebody demand. Jürgen Westermeier, President & MD, Airbus India & South Asia, sees India not only as a huge market but as a strategic manufacturing and talent hub—sourcing from India has tripled since 2019 and will approach $2B before 2030, with Indian firms moving into Tier‑1 roles and final assembly lines being established. Fleet strategy is becoming bimodal: A320 narrowbodies remain core, A350s and other widebodies will power long‑haul growth, and the A220 can fill the “missing link” on thinner long routes—positioning India as an emerging aviation powerhouse.
Q. India is one of the fastest-growing aviation markets globally. From Airbus’s perspective, what will define the next phase of India’s civil aviation growth?
A. The next phase of India’s civil aviation growth will be defined by three primary forces: significant fleet expansion, critical infrastructure development and a structural shift toward global connectivity. India is a significant growth engine for the global aviation industry. To absorb this growth, India is building 220 airports by 2030 and developing regional domestic routes. Simultaneously, Indian carriers are moving to establish India as a competitive global transit hub by offering more direct long-haul flights. This will require greater adoption of widebody aircraft. We are grateful that large carriers such as IndiGo and Air India are making Airbus benchmark products, such as the A350, the cornerstone of their growth, especially in supporting their international ambitions.
But India is also transitioning beyond a mere market, further strengthening itself as a strategic resource hub for Airbus by offering competitiveness and competency. We have tripled our procurement from India since 2019. We are elevating more Indian firms to Tier I supplier status, as we view the country as a critical and reliable pillar to address global supply chain challenges.
In sum, India is rapidly emerging as both a leading engine of global commercial aviation growth and a substantial aerospace manufacturing and talent hub, positioning the country as an aviation powerhouse for the industry’s future.
Q. How crucial is India to Airbus — not just as a booming aircraft market but as a hub in its global supply chain?
A. We have a strategic approach to India, and ‘Make in India’ is at the core of this strategy. We want to develop a comprehensive aerospace ecosystem in India across all dimensions: Manufacturing, Assembly, Maintenance, Engineering, Digital, Leasing and Training. Consider this: In just five years, our sourcing from India has already tripled from $500 million in 2019 to about $1.5 billion. But it’s not just the volume of work but also the value and complexity of the activity that has grown. Airbus has awarded contracts to Indian suppliers to manufacture the doors for A320 and A220 aircraft, flap track beams and helicopter fuselages. Our procurement trajectory will touch $2 billion well before 2030. Airbus is the only aerospace company to have two final assembly lines in India, set up by our partners, the Tatas, for the C295 military transport aircraft and H125 helicopters.
We are confident that India is the market of the future for the aerospace industry. The appetite for growth is tremendous. Add to that the country’s demographic dividend and significant engineering and IT talent pool, making India a magnet for trade and investment in aerospace.
Airbus is fully utilizing this clear talent advantage that India offers for all its global commercial aircraft and helicopter programmes. Additionally, in today’s volatile and uncertain world, India offers political stability and policy predictability. One area of focus could be the speed of doing business.
Q. How do you see India’s narrowbody–widebody mix shifting as international connections boom—more narrowbodies on thin long-hauls, bigger widebodies, or something else exciting?
A. We foresee a fundamental shift in the trajectory of the Indian aviation industry. The ‘one-size-fits-all’ narrowbody era is evolving into a more sophisticated, bimodal fleet strategy. We proudly say the A320 remains the poster aircraft and an undisputed backbone of Indian skies, and the A350 is already beginning to reclaim India’s long-haul market with significant orders from our customers – Air India and IndiGo.
Today, we view the A220 as the vital ‘missing link’ that could further catalyze the evolution of India’s aviation market. Our A220 is purpose-built and sized to harmonize with the Indian Government’s UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) scheme’s core mission of democratization, making Tier-2 and Tier-3 routes commercially sustainable and efficient. Not only that, by introducing an aircraft that features ‘Make in India’ components, such as the critical door assemblies manufactured in Bengaluru, we are not just proposing a new fleet type, we are proposing a strategic, integrated ecosystem to our Indian carriers.
Q. How crucial is India to Airbus’ global supply chain today — and can India evolve from a sourcing hub into a major aerospace manufacturing or assembly centre?
A. The performance of the Indian aerospace supply chain is becoming globally recognized, particularly for its impressive track record of reliability and on-time delivery. Indian suppliers are demonstrating a strong commitment to investing in industrial set-up and acquiring advanced skills. They also possess a powerful spirit of innovation, actively looking for ways to improve processes and technology. This proactive stance, combined with a clear appetite to rapidly scale up operations, aligns perfectly with Airbus’ strategic imperative to increase its global production rate while simultaneously de-risking and diversifying its supply chain. While the Indian supply chain is maturing fast, it is still developing all capabilities. It is becoming very adept at building-to-print capabilities. Now, it must leverage the country’s technological talent to gain built-to-design or spec competencies. The real value of aviation is in design and development, where India can truly excel.
Q. Given India’s projected need for tens of thousands of pilots and aircraft technicians in the coming years, how is Airbus partnering with Indian stakeholders to support aviation skilling and training?
A. Airbus is actively building a localized skilling ecosystem in India, contributing to the ‘Skill India’ initiative of the Government. In 2025, we inaugurated a state-of-the-art Pilot training Centre in Gurugram, Haryana, a joint venture between Air India and Airbus. With that, we are also the only company to have two full-motion pilot training centres in India. We believe human capital development is a critical pillar of aviation growth, and we have invested in multiple skilling and training initiatives across the country, especially through the Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya in Vadodara, which focuses on the transport and logistics sector. We are also partnering with universities such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) to develop curricula and training modules, and to promote research and innovation on relevant aerospace topics.
Airbus has established India as a global hub for its technological and digital capabilities. This effort is centered around our major Engineering and Digital Centres in Bengaluru, which have grown from about 1000 engineers in 2020 to more than 3500 today. These engineers and IT professionals are embedded in global programmes, contributing to the design of aircraft across the Airbus portfolio, including the A350. Furthermore, the Indian team is crucial to the company’s digital transformation, handling advanced work in Big Data, AI, and Cybersecurity. The engineering centre also houses the Airbus Innovation Centre, which is responsible for exploring disruptive technologies by co-creating with the vibrant external ecosystems such as startups, national labs and universities. These engineering and IT centres are a cornerstone of Airbus’ global strategy, demonstrating its commitment to ‘Design and Innovate in India’. Today, every Airbus commercial aircraft and every Airbus helicopter has parts and technologies made in India.
Q. With sustainability now non‑negotiable for aviation, how prepared is India to adopt Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) at scale — and, given its domestic energy resources, refining infrastructure and policy environment, can India realistically become a global SAF production hub?
A. India is uniquely positioned not just to adopt Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), but to emerge as a global production powerhouse given its massive agricultural base and its refining prowess. Airbus is proud to be serving as a strategic catalyst across the entire SAF value chain, supporting the country’s vision.
To help India realize this ambition, we are focusing on four critical pillars:
- Policy advocacy, where we are actively shaping the national sustainability roadmap by engaging with government sub-committees and facilitating international knowledge transfers.
- ‘Make in India’ SAF production: Supporting research institutes like the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research–Indian Institute of Petroleum (CSIR–IIP) for the development of indigenous SAF production technologies and providing guidance on the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) certification process.
- Supply chain integration: We are also looking at collaborating with large refineries in the country to promote and scale the SAF production.
- Market stimulation: We are conducting SAF awareness sessions to stimulate its demand. We are also working with airlines to develop programmes to offset the green premium associated with SAF.
We have also forged a joint study agreement with Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya, India’s premier industry-driven university for the transportation and logistics sector, to launch a comprehensive research and development programme focused on converting waste materials into SAF. The collaboration is expected to establish a strong indigenous capability in SAF technology, paving the way for a self-reliant future for the Indian aviation sector.
Q. How do you anticipate the Indian helicopter market—across civil aviation, defence, and public services—evolving over the next 5–10 years in terms of demand drivers, technological adoption (e.g., rotorcraft autonomy, hybrid/electric propulsion), domestic manufacturing and supply-chain development, and policy or regulatory changes that could accelerate or constrain growth?
A. India is an ideal helicopter country with immense untapped potential. While the robust growth in the fixed-wing sector has been remarkable, it now needs to be matched by a similar revolution in the rotary-wing industry. Today, with a 50% share of the civil market, Airbus has over 60 active customers and nearly 180 helicopters in operation in India and the South Asia region.
Our commitment to the Government’s ‘Make in India’ vision is best exemplified by the Airbus-Tata H125 Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Vemagal, Karnataka. As the first private-sector helicopter assembly line in India, it will deliver the first ‘Made in India’ H125 by 2027, serving both domestic needs and South Asian exports. Furthermore, the FAL is also capable of producing the military variant of the H125 to meet the needs of the Indian Armed Forces.
While we continue to deepen our presence in established helicopter market segments such as passenger transportation, heli-pilgrimage, commercial and business aviation, offshore flying, and energy missions, one of the most important catalysts for market transformation lies in the expansion of essential public services, such as Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) and law enforcement. As we have seen globally, these life-saving missions require government-backed anchor programmes for sustenance. The recent infrastructure development of helipads and regulatory easing is highly commendable; however, direct policy support from the government remains the final key to sustained growth in the civil and para-public (C&P) sector, further ensuring the helicopter’s role in nation-building.
Q. How does Wings India 2026 serve as a pivotal platform for Airbus and the broader global aerospace industry? What are Airbus’s offerings during the air show?
A. Wings India 2026, India’s flagship civil aviation event, serves as a critical stage for Airbus to showcase its products and services, engage with customers, partners and key stakeholders across the civil aviation ecosystem, aligned with India’s rapidly expanding aviation market. At the show, Airbus will showcase its extensive portfolio of commercial aircraft and helicopters, highlighting its long-term commitment to supporting India’s civil aviation sector’s growth. Airbus will feature several of its latest platforms on static display, including the A220 and A321neo’s long-range variant – the A321LR commercial aircraft, as well as the H125 and H160 helicopters, underscoring the company’s capabilities across fixed-wing and rotary-wing aviation and a wide range of civil missions.
Airbus will be present at Stall 11 of the exhibition pavilion, where it will display scale models of the A321XLR and A220-300, alongside helicopter models of the H145 and H125, offering a closer look at Airbus’ most versatile rotorcraft. The booth will also host an H125 Virtual Reality Simulator, providing an immersive experience of one of the world’s most widely used light helicopters.
A dedicated sustainability corner at the Airbus booth will highlight the company’s efforts to advance sustainable aviation, including its focus on decarbonization and the responsible growth of the aerospace sector. During the public days of the show, the Airbus HR team will host meet-and-greet sessions for university students, professionals and aviation enthusiasts interested in careers across Airbus’ aerospace value chain.
All the responses are attributed to Jürgen Westermeier, President & MD, Airbus India & South Asia.
