File photo of Airbus Helicopters factory in Albacete Spain. Photo by Hans Geel/Shutterstock.com
On Thursday, local media reported that Airbus Helicopters has suspended the construction of its factory in Brasov. It was supposed to produce H215M multirole helicopters, but the company hasn’t received any orders from the Romanian authorities for delivering such helicopters.
“We understand that ordering 40 or 50 helicopters involves a lot of money. So we proposed a contract of at least 16 helicopters”, News.ro quoted Airbus Helicopters Europe CEO Olivier Michalon as saying in an interview.
“By now the helicopters would have already been manufactured. It is a chance missed by Romania. And today we decided to suspend the project,” Michalon said on October 17.
If the company cannot reach an agreement with Romaniaʼs new government, Airbus could decide to move the factory to another country, although it has already invested EUR 10 million at Brasov, Romania-insider reported.
As previously reported in the Budapest Business Journal, Airbus Helicopters and the government of Hungary announced at the ned of May that they would jointly build a helicopter parts factory in Gyula (195 km southeast of Budapest), with production expected to start in 2021.
