Thailand’s Board of Investment has taken a decisive step in positioning the country as a regional hub for aviation and advanced engineering. The announcement followed high-level discussions between Narit Theodsathirasak, Secretary General of the BOI, and Bert Porteman, Chairman of Airbus. The collaboration underscores Thailand’s growing role in digital aviation technologies and supply chain development across Asia.

Airbus has already established a Flight Operations Center of Excellence in Bangkok, serving as a regional headquarters that covers ASEAN, China, India, Japan, and South Korea. The company employs more than 200 people in Thailand, a figure that has tripled since 2022, with 85 percent of the workforce being Thai nationals. Plans are underway to add more than 40 highly skilled professionals this year, including software engineers, graphic designers, and technicians. Airbus is also preparing to use Thailand as its sole global software testing base, reflecting confidence in the country’s technological capabilities and talent pool.

The BOI and Airbus are working together to elevate Thailand’s aviation industry beyond its current scope. The strategy involves expanding from automotive parts into aircraft components, strengthening maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) capabilities, and advancing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production. Thailand already hosts more than 150 commercial aircraft operated by major airlines such as Thai Airways, Bangkok Airways, Thai AirAsia, and Thai Vietjet, alongside nearly 80 helicopters primarily used by government and military agencies. Airbus maintains partnerships with local organizations, including GISTDA in the space sector and Thai Aviation Industries in aircraft maintenance.

Global aviation trends provide context for this expansion. Airbus executives project that passenger volumes and fleet sizes will double over the next two decades, creating demand for more than 20,000 new aircraft. Airbus itself has a backlog of over 9,000 orders, equivalent to a decade of production. Yet challenges remain, including supply chain constraints, workforce shortages, rising raw material costs, and geopolitical tensions. These pressures have prompted manufacturers to diversify production bases and mitigate risks. Thailand’s geopolitical neutrality and skilled workforce make it an attractive destination for such diversification.

Currently, Airbus works with about 80 suppliers in Thailand across tiers one through three. The BOI sees this as an opportunity to build expertise in precision manufacturing and aerospace structures, leveraging existing strengths in automotive and high-precision industries. Narit emphasized that the discussions with Airbus represent a pivotal chance to elevate Thailand’s role in the global aviation sector, spanning digital innovation, supply chain development, workforce training, MRO capabilities, and sustainable fuel production.