Stop the War on Migrants take action at Airbus

On 10th April, members of the Amsterdam-based group “Stop the War on Migrants” took action during the annual shareholder meeting of Airbus, protesting the companies profiteering from the war in Yemen and “against the role of Airbus in the so-called "refugee crisis".” The group played drums, handed out leaflets, and hung banners down the entrance steps of the building.

Airbus is one of the largest arms companies in the world, based in France and Germany and a head office is in the Netherlands, and produces helicopters, fighter planes and rockets. Airbus also sells its weapons to countries at war, countries with internal armed conflicts, authoritarian regimes and human rights violators. Airbus is also involved in nuclear weapons, as well as the militarisation of Europe's borders – the company's helicopters are used by Belarus, Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Ukraine, Romania and Slovenia and has supplied border surveillance systems to Romania, France, Spain and Bulgaria.

In 2018, Airbus was fined €81.25 million in order to settle an investigation into corruption allegations surrounding the sale of 18 Eurofighter jets to Austria in 2003. Airbus was unable to account for over $100 million paid to shell companies.