Blair hails 'superjumbo'

Tony Blair has spoken of his pride in the launch of the new Airbus A380 airliner.

The prime minister made his comments in Toulouse, France where European leaders and industry chiefs gathered to mark the formal unveiling of the world's biggest commercial jet.

The A380, which will seat around 555 passengers, will enter airline service in 2006.

French president Jacques Chirac, German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Spanish prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero were also present as Blair praised the co-operation needed to drive the £6 billion project forward.

The prime minister expressed his "tremendous pride in the British contribution, but also tremendous pride in the way that France and Germany and Britain and Spain and countless other countries have worked so well together".

"This is the most exciting new aircraft in the world, it is a symbol of economic strength, technological innovation, the dedication of the workforce that built it, and above all of a confidence that we can compete and win in the global market," he said.

"It is British industry working at its best, it is European co-operation working at its best.

"We should be proud of what has been achieved, for what it represents today and what it means in the future."

Benefit

Blair also said that some 20,000 UK workers had been directly involved in the project, over 400 companies would benefit and there would be billions of pounds of export gains.

He said it was also important that thousands of young people would benefit from apprenticeships during the project, which would protect the EU's skill base in the future.

"The A380 also marks an unprecedented level of industrial co-operation between European countries," he added.

Blair said the plane was a "truly Europe-wide project".

"Never before has the industrial expertise of so many European countries been able to create a world-beating project the size and complexity of this aircraft."

He said it would change the way we fly, while also minimising the environmental impact.

And the prime minister said the workforce deserved praise for its efforts in making the plane.

"They show that modern manufacturing is alive and well in Britain and in Europe, and that our innovation, our design and our technology are the best in the world."

Concluding his remarks, Blair said he was "amazed" by the plane. "It is simply stunning."

"This is a day of which we can truly be proud."