Airbus expansion in Wales takes off

By the Editorial Team · Monday, September 21, 2026

Airbus plans to hire nearly 900 new employees and invest £150 million to convert its Broughton plant for A321 wing production, aiming to meet a backlog of approximately 5,500 orders. This expansion supports Airbus’s goal to increase annual aircraft deliveries to over 1,000 by the end of the decade, boosting output to near pre-pandemic levels amid strong market demand.

Airbus is set to expand its workforce by nearly 900 employees at its Broughton facility in Flintshire, north Wales, as part of a broader effort to address a significant backlog of orders for larger, longer-range single-aisle aircraft. The company currently employs around 6,000 people at the site, which serves as its global hub for wing production.

The expansion includes repurposing the West Factory, which has been functioning as a warehouse since Airbus ceased production of wings for the A380 superjumbo in 2020. The facility will be retooled to manufacture the A321 model, a single-aisle aircraft capable of carrying approximately 240 passengers. Notably, the A321’s extra-long-range (XLR) version is designed to fly routes such as from the UK to the east coast of the United States and major hubs in the Gulf region.

Airbus faces a backlog of nearly 5,500 A321 planes, underscoring the strong market demand for this aircraft. The company announced plans to hire 430 new workers this year, with expectations to recruit a similar number or more in 2027 to meet its production goals. Airbus has also committed an additional £150 million investment for the refit of the Broughton plant.

Jerome Blandin, head of Airbus Wing, described the transformation of the former A380 production facility as “a fundamental part, the finishing touch” of Airbus’s strategy to increase output. Airbus aims to produce more than 1,000 aircraft annually by the end of the decade. “This is the busiest Broughton will ever have been,” Blandin said, noting the increasing pressure to deliver faster and in greater volumes.

In 2025, Airbus delivered 793 aircraft and is targeting 870 deliveries for 2026, a figure that would return the company close to its pre-pandemic output levels—the record being 863 aircraft in 2019. Through the first eight months of 2026, Airbus has delivered 475 planes, which requires its final assembly lines, primarily located in Toulouse, France, to maintain an average monthly production rate of around 100 aircraft for the remainder of the year.

By comparison, Airbus’s American competitor, Boeing, has set a delivery target of 670 aircraft for 2026. The expansion at Broughton forms part of Airbus’s broader efforts to recover from production slowdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent supply chain challenges.

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