Airbus has retained its crown as the world’s biggest aeroplane maker for the third year in a row over rival Boeing after beating its goal to deliver 600 aircraft in 2021, even as it sounded a cautionary note about the emergence of the Omicron coronavirus variant.

The European aerospace champion said it had delivered 611 revenue-generating aircraft last year, an increase of 8 per cent over 2020. More than two-thirds of its deliveries were for its popular A320 family of single-aisle jets, mostly used on short- and medium-haul flights where air travel has picked up quicker than on long-haul.

The company doubled its gross order intake, which excludes cancellations, over the past 12 months with 771 new sales. It secured 507 net orders. It ended the year with a backlog of 7,082 aircraft on order.