Hours before a ceremony to mark formal certification of the aircraft — its last hurdle before the delivery of the first plane — investigators presented search warrants at the Paris offices of EADS and Lagardère, the French publishing group and a major shareholder.

The raids were led by Philippe Courroye and Xavière Simeoni as part of a continuing criminal investigation into suspected insider dealing linked to the production delays of the A380.

While declaring that the police raids were “a predictable part of the investigation”, Louis Gallois, the head of Airbus, appeared to concede that the timing — just when the aircraft maker was revelling in much- needed good news — was down to bad luck.

“It is not for me to comment on the actions of the law enforcers,” he said.

The investigation into the suspect share dealings was opened in November after it emerged that Noel Forgeard, the former joint chief executive of EADS, and some former colleagues had sold off company stock three months before the announcement of the A380 delay sent EADS’ share price tumbling.

Lagardere announced that it was reducing its stake in EADS at around the same time.

The Financial Markets Authority in France has already opened an insider dealing investigation. It has carried out searches at both EADS and Airbus offices.

The four executives involved — who were named in a lawsuit filed by small shareholders — have denied insider-trading allegations. They are: Noel Forgeard, the former joint chief executive of EADS, François Auque, the head of the group’s space division, Jean-Paul Gut, the chief operating officer, and Jussi Itavuori, the head of human resources.

The ceremony yesterday saw a formal certificate signed by officials from the European Aviation Safety Agency and the US Federal Aviation Administration.

In October the first delivery of the plane, the world’s largest passenger aircraft, will be made to Singapore Airlines.

The superjumbo has already finished an arduous test-flight programme in which five planes have logged 2,600 flight hours in various conditions including take-off and landings using snow-bound runways.

The A380 has endured cost overruns and cumulative delivery delays of two years. The crisis is expected to wipe €4.8 billion (£3.25 billiion) off EADS’ forecast profits over the next four years. This year Airbus is set to fall behind Boeing, its US rival, on orders, for the first time since 2001.

In October, Virgin Atlantic became the first airline effectively to pull out of the A380 project, deferring its $1.8 billion (£1 billion) order until 2013.

Mr Gallois said that, despite its problems, Airbus “is a company which is moving forward.”

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