Cairo — Plane manufacturer Airbus has received an order for 255 medium-haul jets, the company announced on Sunday, hailing its first major sale of the pandemic.
The order for the A321neo series aircraft comes from US-based Indigo Partners on behalf of four low-cost airlines.
The parties signed the deal on Sunday at the Dubai Airshow, according to Airbus.
Airbus sales chief Christian Scherer called it a "landmark order" that showed the effect of the pandemic receding and a growing demand for sustainable flying.
The four airlines receiving the planes are Hungary's Wizz Air, US operator Frontier, Mexico's Volaris and the Chilean-Argentinian firm Jetsmart.
Worldwide restrictions on travellers almost completely paralysed international tourism in many countries during the pandemic, hitting airlines and manufacturers hard.
However, demand is picking up again, partly because more and more people are vaccinated against Covid-19 and countries are easing travel restrictions as a result.
In September, Airbus' rival Boeing predicted growing demand over the next two decades.
Airbus did not disclose the value of the order with Indigo Partners. According to a price list published by the company in 2018, the order would be worth around 33 billion dollars.
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