Airbus Group SEAirbus plans to expand its Skywise software testing team in Thailand and make Bangkok its Skywise Asia HQ, deepening its regional operations.

The Board of Investment (BOI) revealed the outcome of discussions with Airbus, which is set to elevate Thailand as the region's digital and aviation engineering business base, with Bangkok serving as the headquarters of Skywise to oversee operations across Asia and as the sole software testing base for customers worldwide. Mr. Narit Therdsteerasukdi, Secretary-General of the Board of Investment (BOI), disclosed after discussions with Mr. Bert Porteman, President of Airbus Thailand, that Airbus plans to use Thailand as the regional office for Skywise, covering the Asian market, and as a base to support the development of aviation systems with digital technology. Currently, there are over 200 personnel in Thailand, more than triple the number since 2022, with approximately 85% being Thai nationals. Airbus is also preparing to hire over 40 additional personnel this year. Airbus is in the process of expanding the Skywise software testing team in Thailand, with plans to use Thailand as the sole testing base for software serving customers worldwide, and to make Bangkok the headquarters of Skywise for the Asian region, covering ASEAN, China, India, Japan, and South Korea. Additionally, both parties discussed extending the automotive parts and high-precision parts industry into the aircraft supply chain. Airbus estimates that the demand for new aircraft will increase by more than 20,000 units over the next 20 years, while Airbus has a backlog of over 9,000 aircraft orders and already has about 80 suppliers in Thailand. In terms of human resource development, Airbus has collaborations with several universities in Thailand, such as King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Kasetsart University, and Chulalongkorn University, to develop aerospace engineering curricula and is ready to support the development of MRO personnel. Meanwhile, Airbus sees Thailand's potential to lead in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production, leveraging its strengths in agricultural waste materials and the ethanol industry. In the short term, production can be from used cooking oil; in the medium term, from ethanol; and in the long term, developing towards synthetic fuel production technology from carbon dioxide and water.
Airbus Group SEAirbus plans to expand its Skywise software testing team in Thailand and make Bangkok its Skywise Asia HQ, deepening its regional operations.