"The United Kingdom has been at the forefront of global aviation for more than a century. This great nation gave birth to the jet engine and later the first jet-powered airliner. It is worldrenowned for its skills and capabilities in the field of flight.

The UK's aerospace sector now stands at the precipice. Brexit is threatening to destroy a century of development based on education, research and human capital. If there is a no-deal Brexit, we at Airbus will have to make potentially very harmful decisions for the UK. Which will be ironic,

considering that back in the 1990s, mid 1990s, it was UK industry that were the architects ofgreater European aerospace integration.

Please don't listen to the Brexiteers' madness which asserts that, because we have huge plants here, we will not move and we will always be here. They are wrong. Of course, it is not possible to pick up and move our large UK factories to other parts of the world immediately. However,

aerospace is a long-term business and we could be forced to re-direct future investments in the event of a no-deal Brexit. And make no mistake there are plenty of countries out there who would love to build the wings for Airbus aircraft.

In a global economy, the UK no longer has the capability to go it alone. Major aerospace projects are multi-national affairs.

It is a disgrace that more than two years after the result of the 2016 referendum, businesses are still unable to plan properly for the future. And we, along with many of our peers, have repeatedly called for clarity.

But, we still have no idea what is really going on here.

Airbus has more 14,000 employees here with a further roughly 110,000 working in jobs supported by our UK programmes, which generates roughly 6 billion pounds of turnover every year.

As we prepare to celebrate Airbus' 50th anniversary, we at Airbus look back fondly on everything we have achieved with our magnificent UK workforce. The global market for aviation is growing at 5 per cent each year. But we are not dependent on the UK for our future. Airbus will survive and thrive whatever the outcome. The question is does the UK wish to be a part of that future success?

If you are really sure that Brexit is best for Britain, come together and deliver a pragmatic withdrawal agreement that allows for an orderly Brexit. "

Contributed by Airbus