The Paris Air Show kicked off on Monday with its trademark fanfare, though the celebratory mood was dampened by concerns over India’s deadliest air disaster and escalating missile strikes between Israel and Iran, developments that have unsettled the global aviation sector.
Every two years, Le Bourget Airport in the northeast of Paris is transformed into a showcase for the aerospace and defense industry, its sprawling tarmac lined with fighter jets, commercial airliners and autonomous drones.
Delegates expect this year's iteration of the world's biggest aviation trade show from June 16-20 to see less business than usual, partly due to last week's deadly crash of an Air India Boeing 787 and also because Boeing racked up huge deals during U.S. President Donald Trump's recent tour of the Middle East.
But Boeing's rival Airbus looks set to close a series of sales on its home turf, and interest in the defense side of the show is high as Europe ramps up military spending and conflict between Israel and Iran escalates.
Air India's London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner struck a medical college hostel in a residential area of the northwestern Indian city of Ahmedabad minutes after takeoff on Thursday.
The crash killed 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground. One passenger survived.
Investigators are gathering data on the engine, wing flaps and landing gear, though it is too early to draw conclusions, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters in India.
India's aviation regulator has ordered safety checks on the airline's 787 fleet.
Airbus, meanwhile, on Monday bagged a $3.5 billion plane order from Saudi Arabia's AviLease, while a diplomatic dispute erupted over France's decision to shut down four Israeli stands for displaying deadly weapons.
Leading Turkish manufacturers, including Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) and Baykar, the developer of globally famed drones, are also showcasing their top products at the fair.
Tensions between traditional allies France and Israel flared up as the show was getting underway, when Paris ordered the main four Israeli company stands to be closed down when they refused to remove offensive weapons, including those used in Gaza, from display.
Israel's Ministry of Defense condemned the move as "outrageous and unprecedented" and accused France of trying to shield its companies from Israeli competition.
The show organizers said they were holding talks to try to "find a favorable outcome to the situation."
Boeing's CEO Kelly Ortberg and Commercial Airplanes boss Stephanie Pope have canceled their trip to Paris, and the U.S. company is scaling back its schedule at the event as it focuses on supporting the probe into the Air India crash that was the first for its 787 model.
Another Air India Boeing 787 bound for New Delhi returned to its origin of Hong Kong as a precautionary measure on Monday after a technical issue was suspected midair.
But Airbus was busy at the show working on deals.
Saudi leasing company AviLease said on Monday it had ordered 30 Airbus A320neo single-aisle jets and 10 A350 freighters in its first direct deal with the European planemaker.
That would be worth around $3.5 billion, according to estimated prices from analysts Cirium Ascend. The two companies did not give a value for the deal, which could increase to 77 jets if AviLease exercises options to buy more of both models.
Two people familiar with the matter also told Reuters that Polish airline LOT was poised to announce an order for 40 Airbus A220 plus options for a further 44 aircraft.
Brazil's Embraer had pushed hard for that deal, sources said. None of the parties agreed to comment.
Airbus is also the front-runner against the same planemaker for a potential order for dozens of A220 jets from AirAsia, sources said.
