Sonaca Aircraft stops production of S200 aircraft

Sonaca Aircraft stops production of S200 aircraft -100% of the personnel will be offered a job within the group.

May 23, 2022 – In front of the prolonged impact of the Covid crisis, Sonaca Aircraft has decided to stop the production of S200 aircraft & to refocus on services & after-sales, with the support of Sonaca. Sonaca has committed to offer employment to all employees, whose expertise will be more than ever useful for the relaunch of the activities within the Group.

The Board of Directors of Sonaca gathered today & decided to stop financing the loss-making activities of its subsidiary Sonaca Aircraft. However, financing has been granted in order to fulfil all its obligations & to facilitate the continuity of essential activities for customers, i.e. services & after sales.

For Yves DELATTE, CEO of Sonaca, “the cessation of Sonaca Aircraft’s production activities is a necessary decision. The Covid-19 pandemic, which will globally impact the aviation sector until 2025, has strongly affected general aviation, especially activities related to pilot training & education.” This has resulted in an order level well below the break-even point for Sonaca Aircraft.

During the last months, Sonaca has approached many strategic partners to help its subsidiary enter new market segments, unfortunately without reaching an agreement.

Following this decision, Sonaca has committed to offer all employees of the Temploux site the possibility to join one of the group’s entities in Belgium. “We have to focus all our strengths on our expertise in aerostructure, where Sonaca aims to become world leader by 2025. The know-how of each Sonaca Aircraft employee will be a real asset to reach this goal” explains the CEO.

Created in 2016, Sonaca Aircraft is a subsidiary whose main mission is to develop, certify & market a training aircraft. The “Sonaca 200”, specially designed for training & leisure flights, will have been delivered 57 units since its creation.

Text: Ermeline Gosselin, Gosselin & de Walque