Mikail Houari

In 2019, the Middle East and Africa contributed over $8.4 billion to Airbus’s revenues and 9% of its future order book, although that might have changed significantly this year. Under Houari’s leadership, Airbus has now resumed aircraft deliveries to the region’s airlines. Last month it delivered two A330 Neos to Kuwait Airways and an A320 to Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines. After the blast in Beirut Port in 2020, Airbus provided satellite imagery to help government analysts, NGOs, and first responders gain visibility into the catastrophe. The Airbus Foundation, together with its partners, sent an A350 XWB aircraft from Toulouse, France, to Beirut with 90 cubic meters of humanitarian aid on board.