PARIS (Reuters) – European planemaker Airbus is examining multiple customer requests to defer deliveries after travel demand collapsed because of the coronavirus epidemic, it said on Thursday.

In a video message for the company’s annual shareholder meeting, which was staged remotely because of lockdowns across Europe, Chief Executive Guillaume Faury said the planemaker was wrestling with “the gravest crisis in the history of the aviation industry”.

Airbus is talking to customers about their requests to delay deliveries and is seeking solutions case by case and aircraft by aircraft, Faury said.

The company has suspended its 2020 forecast for aircraft deliveries as airlines contend with the coronavirus-related economic and logistical challenges of taking delivery of aircraft.

The planemaker this month said it would also cut production of its best-selling narrow-body aircraft by a third, to 40 a month, and issued targets implying a 37-43% cut in wide-body output.

Faury said the targets involved a “reasonable” level of production as Airbus also works to manage a backlog containing several years of unfilled orders.

Reuters
Photo Rob Vogelaar