Airbus Shares Drop 3.18% Following Appeal Conviction
Airbus shares ended the trading session on Thursday, May 21, 2026, down 3.18% at €167.84, in a nearly flat CAC 40 (+0.01% at 8,118.41 points). The stock closed at the bottom of the Paris index, trailing Eiffage and Stellantis. The decline comes as the group announced it would appeal its conviction in the Rio-Paris crash case.
Airbus and Air France Convicted of Involuntary Manslaughter in Appeal Court
The Paris Court of Appeal has convicted Airbus and Air France of involuntary manslaughter in the case of flight AF447, which resulted in 228 deaths on June 1, 2009. Both companies, acquitted in the first instance in 2023, each received a fine of €225,000. The court's decision was announced during the trading session. The financial penalty is marginal compared to the group's capitalization, but the decision comes at a time when the stock is already weakened. Airbus has seen a decline of 11.54% over three months, and today's session brought the drop to more than 3% at close. The stock finished at the bottom of the CAC 40, behind Eiffage (-2.95%) and Stellantis (-2.63%). The European aerospace sector remains sensitive to oil price levels, following several sessions influenced by the trajectory of Brent crude.
Stock Breaks Through Moving Averages, Approaching Support at €165.56
At €167.84, the stock has fallen below the MM20 (€173.08) and MM50 (€170.70), with respective gaps of 3.03% and 1.68%. The price is particularly 11.63% below the MM200 at €189.92, indicating that the medium-term momentum remains weak. The RSI at 50 does not indicate immediate tension, but the break below the MM50 at the close marks a departure from the rebound on May 18 at €171.04. The identified technical support is at €165.56, less than 1.5% from the current price. On the commercial side, the underlying momentum is still driven by AirAsia's record order for the A220-300 in early May and the delivery of the first A321XLR to Air Canada at the end of April. The first quarter accounts, published on April 29, showed an adjusted EBIT halved to €300 million with a 7% decline in revenue to €12.7 billion. The €165.56 level will be the next technical marker to watch in the figures.
