AHI rises above ashes of pandemic

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Airbus Helicopters Inc.’s Columbus, Miss., facility remains on schedule to meet its helicopter production requirements, Romain Trapp, president of Airbus Helicopters and head of the company's North American Region. He fully expects Columbus' AHI plant to produce 16 Airbus H-125 helicopters for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The agreement, announced in late January, specifies that deliveries start later this year. These helicopters will be equipped with infrared detection systems, thermal imaging cameras, night-vision goggles, hoist capabilities and loud speakers. About 75 percent of Airbus’ work in North America is done at four plants in the U.S. The work is in support of critical missions, including emergency medical services, law enforcement, infrastructure companies, and key governmental and military customers such as the Army, National Guard, CBP and the Coast Guard," said Trapp. Columbus AHI typically produces up to 80 aircraft a year, but Trapp said the demand to produce H-125's has created the need for several dozen more jobs at the Golden Triangle plant. (Source: The Dispatch 06/02/20) https://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=81524