The European civil aeronautics sector remains one of the few industries where Europe holds a strong global position. Yet this leadership is coming under increasing pressure. Despite rising global demand for aircraft, the sector faces major challenges, including supply chain disruptions, skills shortages, underinvestment and fragmented industrial coordination. At the same time, it must undergo a profound transformation to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 while responding to intensifying global competition and geopolitical tensions.

Against this backdrop, the European Commission is preparing an updated EU Aviation and Aeronautics Strategy, due in the third quarter of 2026, to strengthen Europe's aviation and aeronautics sectors in a rapidly changing global environment.

IndustriAll Europe believes the strategy must put sustainability, industrial resilience, quality jobs and a Just Transition at its core. Europe needs a coherent industrial policy based on long-term investment, resilient value chains, strong labour rights and high-quality employment. Strengthening European production capacity and developing "Made in Europe" and local-content policies will be essential to secure jobs, stabilise supply chains and safeguard Europe's technological leadership in aeronautics.

The industriAll Europe position paper calls on European policymakers and companies to:

• Develop a new European aviation strategy centred on sustainability, industrial resilience, quality jobs and a Just Transition for workers.
• Strengthen industrial autonomy through "Made in Europe" strategies, secure access to critical raw materials and energy, build more resilient supply chains, and attach binding social conditionalities to public funding.
• Increase public and private investment in aviation research and development, particularly in green technologies that reduce emissions and non-CO₂ impacts, including hydrogen and electric aircraft.
• Support suppliers and SMEs through better access to finance, participation in innovation programmes, cybersecurity support, and fairer risk-sharing across the supply chain.
• Protect workers’ rights by ending precarious work, strengthening collective bargaining, improving working conditions, and maintaining high health and safety standards.
• Ensure a fair green and digital transition through meaningful trade union involvement, Just Transition Plans, and a people-centred approach to AI and new technologies.
• Invest in skills and lifelong learning, including apprenticeships, upskilling and reskilling, to meet future labour market needs.