One passenger survived.

For its part, Airbus announced that Riyadh Air, an airline founded in 2023, placed a “firm” order for 25 wide-body, long-range A350-1000 aircraft.

The deal would be worth more than $9 billion (NZ$14.83b) under 2018 catalogue prices – which Airbus has since phased out as final sale prices vary according to contract terms and the version of an aircraft.

The Riyadh Air deal could rise to 50 planes, Airbus said.

Saudi aircraft leasing company AviLease placed a separate order for 30 single-aisle A320neo jets and 10 A350F freighters in a deal worth around $7b.

The deal could rise to 22 A350F cargo planes and 55 A320neo aircraft.

Polish airline LOT, which has traditionally purchased planes from Boeing and Brazilian manufacturer Embraer, picked Airbus for the first time, ordering 40 A220 planes worth $3.4 billion.

Embraer announced that the Portuguese Government had ordered a sixth KC-390 Millennium military transport plane after buying five in 2019.

– Agence France-Presse