Airbus — origin, manufacturing footprint and ownership

Airbus began as Airbus Industrie, a European aircraft-making consortium formed in 1970 to pool resources from major aerospace firms in France, Germany, the UK and Spain. The consortium model allowed member companies to share development, production and assembly work across national sites; that multinational origin explains Airbus's strong pan‑European identity.

Over time the consortium consolidated into a single corporate group. Today the business operates under Airbus SE, a publicly traded European aerospace corporation. Airbus SE is legally registered (legal seat) in the Netherlands while its principal place of business and main operational headquarters are in Toulouse, France.

Manufacturing and final assembly are distributed across multiple countries. Key European production sites remain in France, Germany, Spain and the UK, with additional final‑assembly lines, component production and engineering centres in China, the United States, Canada, India, Morocco and other locations. Because major production and final-assembly operations span many nations, the correct designation for manufacturing origin is "Multiple countries."

Ownership is public: Airbus SE is listed and widely held, with notable institutional and state-related shareholders from France, Germany and Spain among others. The company is the ultimate owner and operator of the Airbus brand and its core business divisions (Commercial Aircraft, Defence & Space, and Helicopters), and it runs a global network of subsidiaries and regional operations to manage local assembly, sales and support.