Overview
- The A350F completed its maiden flight on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, departing Toulouse for a roughly four-hour test mission that proved basic handling and systems before a safe return.
- That first sortie begins an expected roughly 400 flight-hour certification programme using two test aircraft and is scheduled to lead to customer deliveries in 2027 after around nine to twelve months of trials.
- Airbus says the freighter will carry up to 111 tonnes of payload over about 4,700 nautical miles and is powered by Rolls‑Royce Trent XWB‑97 engines, with a fuselage that blends A350‑900 and A350‑1000 sections and unique landing‑gear and aerodynamic traits that require dedicated testing.
- The programme already shows strong commercial traction with 115 firm orders and 14 confirmed customers, positioning the A350F as Airbus’s bid to take market share from Boeing’s large freighters.
- Built across Airbus sites in Europe including wings at Broughton in the UK, the programme overcame supply‑chain and a very large cargo‑door delay, and could reshape long‑haul cargo operations by offering lower fuel burn and newer capacity for goods such as pharmaceuticals, electronics and time‑sensitive e‑commerce.