Deutsche Aircraft lays cornerstone for D328eco® Final Assembly Line at Leipzig/Halle Airport: First regional aircraft built in Germany in 20 years

Leipzig, 30 April 2025 - With today's cornerstone ceremony for the final assembly line (FAL) of the D328eco regional aircraft at Leipzig/Halle Airport, Deutsche Aircraft has reached a significant milestone on the path to serial manufacturing of this innovative turboprop in the heart of Germany.

Since the groundbreaking ceremony back in May 2023, which also featured Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer, extensive groundwork has been done near the site at Leipzig/Halle Airport to pave the way for a new era in German aviation. By the end of 2025, a CO2-neutral manufacturing facility, a commissioning hangar, a logistics centre, and an administrative building will be constructed on the 60,500 square meter site, equivalent to eight football fields, at Leipzig/Halle Airport. In the future, 250 to 350 additional employees will build up to 48 aircraft annually.

Nico Neumann, Co-CEO of Deutsche Aircraft, explains: "Today is a significant day for us as we commence the industrialization of the D328eco – a project we have been working on intensively over the past few years. This event is not only another important step for the D328eco but also a historic moment for Deutsche Aircraft and regional aviation in the region of Saxony and in Germany. With today's groundbreaking ceremony, we are making a clear statement: We are bringing the development of a regional aircraft, based on the DNA of Dornier, entirely back to Germany. The strong support from the government, our shareholders, and strategic partners, along with the dedicated team at Deutsche Aircraft, plays a crucial role in this success."

Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer emphasised at the cornerstone ceremony: " The investment by Deutsche Aircraft in Saxony at Leipzig/Halle Airport is a strong signal and a positive development for the economic location. This project represents high technology, innovation, and climate-friendly manufacturing. It is associated with many attractive jobs and additional value creation in the region. At the same time, it strengthens our entire aerospace industry."

Yves Weerts, CEO and President of the Weerts Group, the investor and the construction group of the entire project, added: "We appreciate the professionalism, expertise, and enthusiasm with which Deutsche Aircraft is realizing this project. For our company, this collaboration and the connection to Leipzig/Halle Airport are important steps to establish a foothold in the German market.

Götz Ahmelmann, CEO of Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG, emphasised: "With the production line for which we are laying the cornerstone stone today, our airport will become a beacon for sustainable air traffic in Germany. The D328eco will set standards in terms of climate-friendly production and environmentally friendly flying. Both are pioneering for the future of aviation and the economic development of the region: Airplanes are coming home!"

The cornerstone ceremony marks a significant advancement for Deutsche Aircraft and the region of Leipzig. It also underscores the successful collaboration between various stakeholders from international warehouse logistics, airport location, and manufacturing. The next milestone on the path for the aircraft made in Germany is the official unveiling of the first test aircraft, the D328eco TAC 1, on May 28th. The aircraft will be presented to the public for the first time at Deutsche Aircraft's headquarters at the Air Tech Campus Oberpfaffenhofen. With the world's most efficient and environmentally friendly regional aircraft in its class, Deutsche Aircraft will shape the future of regional aviation with the D328eco.

From left to right: Yves Weerts (CEO and President of Weerts Group), Nico Neumann (Co-CEO of Deutsche Aicraft), Michael Kretschmer (Prime Minister of Saxony) and Götz Ahmelmann (CEO of Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG)

For media enquiries, please contact pressoffice@deutscheaircraft.com

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Building the future of flight

Deutsche Aircraft lays cornerstone for D328eco® Final Assembly Line at Leipzig/Halle Airport: First regional aircraft built in Germany in 20 years

April 30, 2025
Deutsche Aircraft lays cornerstone for D328eco® Final Assembly Line at Leipzig/Halle Airport: First regional aircraft built in Germany in 20 years

Leipzig, 30 April 2025 - With today's cornerstone ceremony for the final assembly line (FAL) of the D328eco regional aircraft at Leipzig/Halle Airport, Deutsche Aircraft has reached a significant milestone on the path to serial manufacturing of this innovative turboprop in the heart of Germany.

Since the groundbreaking ceremony back in May 2023, which also featured Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer, extensive groundwork has been done near the site at Leipzig/Halle Airport to pave the way for a new era in German aviation. By the end of 2025, a CO2-neutral manufacturing facility, a commissioning hangar, a logistics centre, and an administrative building will be constructed on the 60,500 square meter site, equivalent to eight football fields, at Leipzig/Halle Airport. In the future, 250 to 350 additional employees will build up to 48 aircraft annually.

Nico Neumann, Co-CEO of Deutsche Aircraft, explains: "Today is a significant day for us as we commence the industrialization of the D328eco – a project we have been working on intensively over the past few years. This event is not only another important step for the D328eco but also a historic moment for Deutsche Aircraft and regional aviation in the region of Saxony and in Germany. With today's groundbreaking ceremony, we are making a clear statement: We are bringing the development of a regional aircraft, based on the DNA of Dornier, entirely back to Germany. The strong support from the government, our shareholders, and strategic partners, along with the dedicated team at Deutsche Aircraft, plays a crucial role in this success."

Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer emphasised at the cornerstone ceremony: " The investment by Deutsche Aircraft in Saxony at Leipzig/Halle Airport is a strong signal and a positive development for the economic location. This project represents high technology, innovation, and climate-friendly manufacturing. It is associated with many attractive jobs and additional value creation in the region. At the same time, it strengthens our entire aerospace industry."

Yves Weerts, CEO and President of the Weerts Group, the investor and the construction group of the entire project, added: "We appreciate the professionalism, expertise, and enthusiasm with which Deutsche Aircraft is realizing this project. For our company, this collaboration and the connection to Leipzig/Halle Airport are important steps to establish a foothold in the German market.

Götz Ahmelmann, CEO of Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG, emphasised: "With the production line for which we are laying the cornerstone stone today, our airport will become a beacon for sustainable air traffic in Germany. The D328eco will set standards in terms of climate-friendly production and environmentally friendly flying. Both are pioneering for the future of aviation and the economic development of the region: Airplanes are coming home!"

The cornerstone ceremony marks a significant advancement for Deutsche Aircraft and the region of Leipzig. It also underscores the successful collaboration between various stakeholders from international warehouse logistics, airport location, and manufacturing. The next milestone on the path for the aircraft made in Germany is the official unveiling of the first test aircraft, the D328eco TAC 1, on May 28th. The aircraft will be presented to the public for the first time at Deutsche Aircraft's headquarters at the Air Tech Campus Oberpfaffenhofen. With the world's most efficient and environmentally friendly regional aircraft in its class, Deutsche Aircraft will shape the future of regional aviation with the D328eco.

From left to right: Yves Weerts (CEO and President of Weerts Group), Nico Neumann (Co-CEO of Deutsche Aicraft), Michael Kretschmer (Prime Minister of Saxony) and Götz Ahmelmann (CEO of Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG)

About the data:
- Source: Cirium
- Schedules data: full year 2019 vs. 2020 – excludes non-scheduled flying
- In-service data:
- For 2019 the data is dated April while for 2020 it’s dated October. We wanted to compare “shoulder month” to shoulder month, however April 2020 wouldn’t have captured the immediate impact of Coronavirus as our dataset classes aircraft as in storage after 3 months of inactivity.

DA Aviation Ecosystem Review

We are proud to present, “Aviation Ecosystem Review 2020.”
Based on market research surrounding our vision of building a sustainable future for aviation, this report provides insight into how we see Deutsche Aircraft fitting into the everchanging aviation environment.

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Welcome: New Leadership Onboard

Nico Neumann Deutsche Aircraft

Nico’s responsibilities as Vice President of Operations & Programs include development of aircraft production programs, maintenance, overall quality management and ensuring infrastructure and knowledge are in place to meet future needs.

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As Director of Supply Chain, Maximilian’s role is to lead development and growth of all supply chain activities under a consolidated strategy.

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DA Latest News in a Nutshell

New talent appointed to strengthen the Deutsche aircraft programme

As part of its continued support of Deutsche Aircraft’s D328eco aircraft programme, 328 Support Services GmbH recently appointed a panel of “talent experts” to further strengthen the overall team and ensure strong management structure and processes are in place across the D328eco development programme. Today we focus on the Engineering & Programme departments.

On the programme side, Mr. Peter Spyrka has been appointed Director of Programmes. Peter brings over 20 years’ experience in the global aerospace industry with engineering & development works on both civil and military aircraft programmes. Prior to joining Deutsche Aircraft, Peter worked at Airbus, leading the Hybrid Electric Propulsion System development programme for demonstrator projects. He also worked for Fairchild Dornier back in the late 1990’s.

In Engineering, Mr. Jean-Damien Mazeau has been appointed as our new Head of Propulsion Systems. Jean-Damien also brings more than 20 years’ aeronautical experience to Deutsche Aircraft, having built most of his career at Airbus. He was most recently involved with the A320neo’s entry into service, in charge of propulsion system’s global technical Support.

Last but not least, Dr. Stefan Brunner brings more than two decades of expertise and experience to his position as Head of Airframe. Throughout his career, Stefan spent more than 17 years working directly for the Airbus group where he was heavily involved with a wide variety of major engineering programmes on both commercial aviation and defence & space programmes. In his new role, Stefan will be responsible for design, analysis and modification of the D328eco airframe’s primary structure (Fuselage, Fairings, Wing, Empennage), as well as establishing new processes and procedures to complete aircraft development. Finally, he is responsible for ensuring compliance with the European Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulations.

In addition to Peter, Jean Damien and Stefan, we are also proud to announce that we have been busy hiring new talent from not only within Germany, but from all over the world. Coming from a variety of companies within the aerospace industry, we look forward to utilising our new team members’ skills and expertise to achieve the entry into service scheduled for 2025.

All are great assets to the current Engineering & Programme team and will, without a doubt, help support Deutsche Aircraft’s development programme over the coming years.

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