The Andalucia Aerospace cluster presents the 2022 report of the Andalusian aerospace sector
The Andalusian aerospace sector closes the year 2022 with a higher turnover and employment than in 2021. The total turnover of the sector in 2022 stands at €2,356 million, an increase of 17% compared to the previous year (€2,002 million). In the same way, employment is also growing, reaching 13,136 direct jobs, which is 8% more than in 2021.
Despite this growth, compared to the pre-pandemic data, current billing is still 17% below the billing data for 2019 and employment 9% below. “The growth could have been even higher if we had not had some adverse factors such as the war in Ukraine, inflation and the supply crisis.” This was reported by the president of Andalucía Aerospace, Antonio Gómez-Guillamón, and his managing director, Juan Román, who held an event with the specialized media at the Confederation of Andalusian Entrepreneurs (CEA) to present the results of the 2022 report of the Andalusian aerospace sector.
After the drop in activity in 2020, due to the temporary cessation of air traffic caused by Covid 19, 2022 has been a period of growth with a progressive recovery in air traffic, although it has been less on transoceanic routes. This has led to an increase in the workload for Andalusian aerospace companies as more orders for commercial aircraft have been received.
In the military or defense sector, the war in Ukraine has revealed the importance and need for States to protect themselves in order to guarantee the rights of those countries, their citizens and national security. For this reason, the budgets for Defense are being raised, which represents an important boost for the Andalusian aerospace sector, with such a tradition in this military segment.
Programs like the A400M or the C295, in which our region has a very important participation and final assembly of these aircraft, are being valued. From Andalusia, they are already working on the C295 commissioned by the Indian government and the first flight of that plane with SAF fuel has been carried out.
The Andalusian aerospace industry has shown resilience in the face of the difficulties generated by the international context; maintaining the number of 143 companies that make up the sector. However, they appealed to the need for the Administrations to support the sector more than ever, strategic for Andalusia, which contributes 1.24% to Andalusia’s global GDP, 9.19% to industrial GDP and leads the export rankings.
This support for the sector must be marked by the implementation of the Andalusian Aerospace Strategy 2020-2027 which, they insisted, includes the necessary actions for the development of the sector. This Plan, they recalled, contemplates investments amounting to 572 million euros to promote technologies, certifications, new products and markets, training and, in general, promote the aerospace ecosystem.
Forecasts
With the designation of Seville as the headquarters of the future Spanish Space Agency, the space sector is expected to take off in the region. The Andalusian sector, very strong in the aeronautical segment, is committed to strengthening the space segment, taking advantage of synergies with existing technological capabilities. The most important initiative promoted by the cluster is the implementation of the Andalusat project, a satellite system that will be developed using, preferably, the technological capabilities of Andalusian companies.
Another priority segment in the region is the development of Unmanned Aerial Systems, UAS or also known as drones, and Advanced Air Mobility, based on electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. In these segments, innovative public procurement may be the necessary instrument to develop enabling digital technologies.
In addition, the commissioning of CEUS, in the province of Huelva, will become the largest test center for unmanned flights in Europe. It will work in coordination with the INTA experimentation center in El Arenosillo. It is expected to come into operation at the beginning of 2024, becoming an important asset for the sector.
The military segment is also a priority for the region. In this sense, the Andalusian cluster supports the initiative of the Junta de Andalucía to create a Defense Node that includes the regional industry in this sector. Andalusia is expected to receive a workload from the Eurodrone program, which may represent an important reinforcement for the military segment of our region.
Another great program, such as the Future Air Combat System (FCAS), has entered its Phase 1B, starting engineering activities in terms of systems and demonstrators. Our companies are beginning to position themselves to be eligible for future projects of a program that will take decades to carry out.
The AIRBUS plant at the CBC (Cádiz) is concentrated and expanded in the province of Cádiz and is reinforced with a growth plan. The maintenance of jobs is very good news.
Regarding the Andalucía Aerospace cluster, it has more than 90 associated companies, experiencing strong growth in associates and activities. The perception of the value of the unity of the sector and the defense of its interests is growing. In relation to Innovation, consortia between companies are being promoted to launch R&D projects that result in improvements to production processes. The cluster has executed its first innovation projects as an Innovative Business Group (AEI).
The cluster representatives also pointed out that next week an important delegation of Andalusian companies will be present at the Paris Air Show, the most important aerospace event in Europe. They work so that the “Andalucía Aerospace” brand is recognized throughout the world and, along these lines, internationalization is becoming increasingly important for the cluster and all the companies that form it.
