Airbus beefs up investment in Santo Tirso

France’s Airbus is beefing up its investment in Portugal. The company will enlarge its factory in Santo Tirso by 5,500 square meters, the equivalent of a 30% expansion of its industrial space which will be fully operational at the end of 2026.

The amount of the investment has not been revealed. According to a communiqué from the company, the expansion will help respond to the recent growth of Airbus programmes, creating 400 direct jobs since 2022..

Airbus in Portugal currently produces fuselage sections for the Airbus A320 and A350.

The factory site currently has 20,000 square metres and this expansion is likely to create more jobs in the Santo Tirso region.

In October, as part of the signing of a memorandum of understanding with AED Cluster, the leaders of the French manufacturer showed interest in continuing to invest in the national territory, already eyeing the growth of these facilities.

However, the expansion, they stressed, was dependent on the Government’s choice regarding the replacement of the F-16s, in which Airbus is in the race with the Eurofighter Typhoon.

The aircraft manufacturer also signed an agreement this week with the Portuguese company Critical Software to create Critical Flytech, a company that will operate in the aerospace sector, which is scheduled to be launched in 2026.