Official ceremony with British Airways at production site in Portugal
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Wiesbaden/Gaia, 24th September 2025
Global market leader COBUS Industries has reached another milestone with the line-off of its 5,000th apron bus. The fully electric e.COBUS 2700S was officially delivered to British Airways in a ceremony at CaetanoBus plant in Gaia, Portugal, on the 24th of September 2025. Among the invited guests were representatives of British Airways, the shareholders of COBUS as well as colleagues from COBUS, CaetanoBus and Daimler involved in the COBUS project.
COBUS now operates airport buses at over 350 airports in 115 countries. Since 1983, the company has always been a technological trendsetter and introduced the world’s first fully electric airport bus in 2016. The 5,000th bus is an e.COBUS 2700S ER (Extended Range), representing the second generation of the e.COBUS product line. It is designed to cope with the special requirements of London Heathrow International Airport. The transport capacity of up to 77 passengers and doors on both sides of the vehicle combined with compact outside dimensions and a small turning radius facilitates manoeuvring on one of the busiest airport aprons.
The bus is part of British Airways’ order for 38 right-hand drive COBUS apron buses consisting of 15 buses operating on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) fuel and 23 fully electric buses for passenger transportation. During the past couple of years, COBUS has closely supported British Airways in its commitment toward zero-emission operations at airports.
“Delivering our 5,000th COBUS to British Airways is an honour and an important milestone for our company”, said Patricia Vasconcelos, CEO of COBUS Industries. “The delivery of 38 COBUS vehicles is not only a symbol of our long-standing expertise, but also of the trust placed in us and the strong partnership we have built with British Airways. Together, we are proud to drive the transformation of ground operations toward zero-emission mobility and a more sustainable future in aviation.”
David Mohammed, Ground Transport Services Manager at British Airways, responded:
“We’re proud to welcome the fully electric COBUS 2700S fleet to Heathrow as part of our continued investment in sustainable ground operations. These vehicles mark a significant step forward in reducing emissions across our airside transport network, while also enhancing the comfort and experience for our customers. This milestone reflects our commitment to innovation and sustainability, and we’re pleased to continue our partnership with COBUS Industries in driving positive change.”
