Airbus has announced that operations in France and Spain will be paused for four days after the two countries entered partial lockdowns to tackle the coronavirus crisis.
The planemaker said its COVID-19 contingency plans are intended to mitigate damage from the disruption caused by the outbreak, in terms of both workplace safety and production output.
Though Reuters reported Monday (local time) that these plans were not expected to cause a halt in operations, French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement later that day ordered widespread restrictions on the movement of people and goods in the country.
“This will allow sufficient time to implement stringent health and safety conditions in terms of hygiene, cleaning and self-distancing, while improving the efficiency of operations under the new working conditions,” Airbus said in a statement.
Airbus assembles the narrow-body A320 series in France, as well as wide-body models such as the A330 and the A350.
The cockpit section, pylons and central wingbox are also produced at now-shuttered French factories.
Spanish factories are responsible for aircraft tail sections and the A400M military transporters.
Airbus shares closed 8.6 per cent down on Tuesday.
