Minister Héctor Gómez underlines the strength of the aerospace industry during his visit to Airspace Integration Week

The acting Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Héctor Gómez, has highlighted the strength of the aeronautical sector in Spain during his visit to the 'Airspace Integration Week' congress, which is being held this week in Madrid.

For Héctor Gómez, the aeronautical industry in Spain is a priority sector for the government due to its influence in strategic areas of our economy such as tourism. "The development of aviation is essential for our growth as a global tourist attraction, as well as for the new industrial revolution that is under way thanks to European funds".

The minister, who attended a drone flight demonstration at Madrid-Cuatro Vientos Airport and visited several stands, reiterated the need for the public sector to continue supporting private initiative in a sector "in constant technological transformation", and which faces "very important sustainability challenges" in a context of constant growth in air traffic, demand for more aircraft and a comprehensive reconfiguration of the management of the skies.

Having overcome the crisis in the sector stemming from the pandemic, between January and July of this year 2023 the number of passengers on commercial flights in the Spanish air market has grown by 21.2% compared to 2022, to 132.2 million. This steady increase will be associated with a constant demand for new, more efficient and sustainable aircraft models.

The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism has supported the sector at different times since 2019, and especially in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. In 2021, the ministry launched an aerospace industry aid fund, called Aerofondo, endowed with €100 million, with the participation of the Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones Industriales (SEPI), Airbus and an investment fund. This initiative was added to the €185 million aeronautics technology plan managed by the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI).

As part of its support for the military aerospace industry, in December 2022 the ministry also granted two loans to Airbus for helicopter programmes. The sum of the two loans amounted to almost €2.14 billion: €1.429 billion for the drone programme and €707 million for helicopters.

It has also been involved in the financing of four major weapons programmes in recent years, one of which is a "Euromale" drone, also known as a "Euro drone", which will make its first flight in 2025 and is scheduled to deliver the first aircraft in 2028. The funding amounts to €31.43 billion over the period 2022-2028.

Aerospace Strategic Project for Economic Recovery and Transformation (PERTE)

The Government has also reinforced the comprehensive protection of the aviation sector through the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, which envisages the development of an Aerospace PERTE, which will mobilise around €4.53 billion between 2021 and 2025, with a public sector contribution of around €2.19 billion and private investment of around €2.34 billion.

This PERTE, managed by the Ministry of Science and Innovation, aims to make the Spanish aerospace industry a key player in the new challenges and opportunities associated with the major transformations foreseen in the sector.

Non official translation