The UK aircraft industry saw a dip in orders and deliveries in October - and the CEO of trade body ADS says he expects the sector's recovery from the pandemic will be "long and turbulent".
ADS said 30 single-aisle and two wide-body aircraft were ordered last month. Meanwhile manufacturers delivered 63 aircraft - which ADS says is "the lowest number of deliveries in any October since records began in 2010".
Orders announced at November’s Dubai Airshow will be included in ADS's next monthly figures.
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Recent Index of Production figures showed UK aerospace manufacturing was significantly weaker than in February 2020, at 38.2% smaller and with a slow rate of recovery to pre-pandemic levels.
But despite the dip and lower production levels, ADS said year-to-date deliveries stood at 728 aircraft - up 39% on October 2020.
The backlog of aircraft orders stands at 12,754 aircraft. ADS said "the total order book will be worth around £181bn to the UK aircraft manufacturing industry and represents several years’ worth of work".
ADS chief executive Kevin Craven said: “The recent dip in orders and deliveries and suppression of UK aerospace manufacturing show that the road to sustained long-term recovery will be long and turbulent.
“The industry is focussed on the returning to long-term growth and delivering on our net zero ambitions. UK aerospace manufacturing companies are world leaders and are planning investments worth billions of pounds to achieve net zero by 2050, while supporting more than 100,000 UK jobs.
“We welcome the recent announcement made by the Government that Aerospace Technology Institute funding will extended to 2031 and we are working closely with the Jet Zero Council to support the delivery of this ambitious target.”
