NATO has ordered a fleet of A400M aircraft that are assembled in Seville, but the San Pablo plant has been on strike for ten days with a 95% participation rate. Workers are demanding to maintain remote work and a salary increase above the inflation rate.
The future of the A400M hinges on Seville, but the San Pablo factory is practically paralysed. While NATO is pushing for an agreement to acquire a fleet of these military transport aircraft, the Airbus workforce in the Andalusian capital is maintaining a strike that, according to union sources, has a 95% on-site participation rate. The paralysis affects the final assembly of all A400M aircraft in the group, a process that is only carried out at the Seville facilities.
The agreement reached at last week's Ankara summit opens the door to additional demand that, in an initial phase, will draw from units already ordered by member countries. This would avoid bottlenecks, but the strike threatens to delay deliveries. In a second phase, the agreement includes new purchases that could significantly increase the workload at the Andalusian plant.
Pending orders and new opportunities
According to Airbus documentation consulted as of May 2026, the company has 39 A400M aircraft in its global portfolio. Of these, 25 are for France, 13 for Spain –from a total order of 27 units with a spending cap of 6.6 billion euros– and one for Kazakhstan. These orders are now joined by NATO's plans, which, although there is no firm order yet, are already shaping the fleet with existing aircraft.
For the reader in Seville, the news has a direct impact: the San Pablo plant is the nerve centre of the A400M programme and any increase in orders guarantees workload for the coming years. However, the labour conflict jeopardises delivery timelines and the competitiveness of the factory compared to other plants in the group.
Ten days of strike with no progress
The workers at Airbus in Seville, along with those in Albacete and Getafe, are maintaining their stand against management. The demands are clear: to maintain two days of remote work per week and a salary increase above the inflation rate. The strike, which has now lasted ten days, has halted activity on the final assembly line, where all A400M aircraft in the group are completed.
Last Friday, the company issued its first statement since the conflict began, opening the door to dialogue. In the text, reported by union sources, management stated that it was “open to dialogue with the social side” and expressed its intention to “move forward constructively” to “return to normal as soon as possible”. However, discussions have not progressed in the last five days, according to the same sources.
“Airbus management in Spain is open to dialogue with the social side. Airbus's intention is to move forward constructively as part of the ongoing negotiations, and we take note of our employees' concerns. Our goal is to return to normal as soon as possible to mitigate the impact of the strike on our employees, operations, and customers.”
Meanwhile, unions assert that the workforce is not willing to concede. The tension has spilled over into public opinion in Seville, which sees the province's main industry at a standstill just as international orders begin to take off.
The A400M, a key aircraft for defence
The A400M is no ordinary aircraft. Designed to transport heavy loads of up to 37 tonnes –with plans to raise it to 40– its cargo hold of 340 cubic metres allows for the transport of infantry vehicles or NH90 helicopters. Additionally, it can function as a tanker aircraft refuelling fighters and other aircraft with 51,000 kilos of fuel, and it is prepared to operate in hostile environments with low detection. It also has the capacity for 116 fully equipped paratroopers.
For the worker in Seville, the programme's relevance is twofold: on one hand, the San Pablo factory is the only one in the group that conducts the final assembly of these aircraft, making it an irreplaceable link. On the other hand, any delays in deliveries could damage the plant's reputation and, in the long term, the arrival of new orders.
NATO has designated Belgium, Croatia, France, Poland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and Spain as leading countries in the future transport programme of the Alliance. This places the Seville plant at the centre of the European defence map, but resolving the labour conflict is key for that prominence to translate into employment and real activity.
For now, the strike continues and negotiations remain stalled. The coming days will be decisive in determining whether NATO's agreement becomes an opportunity or a missed chance for the Seville aerospace industry.
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