The head of Airbus has lashed out at the “absurdity” of the prolonged aircraft subsidy row between his company and Boeing, its US rival, saying both sides had taken state aid and the only winners were likely to be their emerging rivals in China and Russia.

In an unusually frank assessment of the six-year World Trade Organisation battle between the US and European Union over the funding of their respective aircraft-makers, Tom Enders, chief executive, said the WTO had, unsurprisingly, found “both are guilty”.

“Let’s be honest about it, the simple truth is, in the aerospace or aeronautic business, none of us, none of the companies that play a role in it, has been growing without any government support,” Mr Enders told an Aviation Club lunch in London. “So let’s accept reality.”