The first Airbus A400M airlifter ordered by the Spanish Air Force made its maiden flight on 5th September. The aircraft, MSN44, took off from Seville, Spain where the A400M Final Assembly Line is located, at 15:25 local time (GMT+1) and landed back on site 3 hours and 45 minutes later.

The aircraft is scheduled to be delivered in the coming weeks. Spain, which has ordered 27 Atlas transports, is one of the last customers to receive the aircraft. France, Germany, the UK, Turkey and Malaysia have already taken delivery of some of their A400Ms on order. As of June 2016, 26 A400Ms were in service worldwide. Belgium and Luxemburg are still awaiting delivery of their first aircraft.