The first Airbus A350F took off from Toulouse on 29 September 2026 for a flight of 4 hours 10 minutes. The flight starts a certification campaign for a freighter that shares much of its structure with the A350 passenger family, while its loading, door and cargo-handling systems are largely new.
MSN 700, the first of two test aircraft, is fitted with special flight test instrumentation. On the first flight it reached 25,000 ft and an indicated airspeed of 340 kt. Airbus said the crew checked basic airworthiness, fundamental flying qualities and whether the basic systems performed as predicted. This marks the start of a flight test campaign that Airbus expects to run for more than nine months and about 400 flight hours, with European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) type certification as the goal.
Captain and test pilot Bernardo Saez-Benito flew the aircraft with first officer and experimental test pilot Sylvain Guiraud. Test flight engineer Ludovic Girard and lead flight test engineers Laurent Bussiere and Jaime Angoloti were also on board. Airbus described the aircraft on this flight as a flying laboratory, with thousands of parameters covering aerodynamics, structural loads and sensor data monitored in real time.
Lars Wagner, CEO of Airbus Commercial Aircraft, said, “This maiden flight is a major milestone for the A350F and for our customers worldwide. As the latest development of our highly successful A350 platform, the A350F is a true game-changer for the air cargo market, combining unmatched operational flexibility, fuel efficiency, and range.”
Neither a -900 nor a -1000
The A350F is not a simple conversion of an existing A350 model. Before the flight, Bussiere explained that the freighter combines elements of both passenger variants. He said, “It's not an A350-1000 and it's not an A350-900, but rather it's between both. So we need to look at the behaviour of the whole system with this unique model.”
A large part of the preparation took place on the ground. The flight test team flew 13 “virtual first flight” simulator sessions of about five hours each. Bussiere described the set-up as “90% representative of the physical aircraft”, adding that “the only significant variable left to prove in the sky is the freighter's specific aerodynamic model.” Before the aircraft flew, it also completed ground vibration testing to validate the structural dynamics and aeroelastic models, calibration of the pitot-static system using a trailing cone, and smoke-propagation tests in the cargo areas.
The Door That Shapes the Aircraft
The main-deck cargo door has the biggest influence on the A350F's design. Airbus gives it a 4.5 m cut-out width and a 4.3 m clear opening (170 in). The manufacturer calls it the largest main-deck door in commercial aviation and says it is 15% wider than the doors on competing large widebody freighters. The door spans seven frame bays and takes up about a quarter of the rear fuselage, so it carries structural loads as well as closing an opening.
The door is built from carbon-fibre composites at Airbus's facility in Illescas, Spain, across five workstations. Assembly involves about 4,000 precision-drilled holes in the internal structure and around 9,000 more when the outer skin is fitted, followed by the installation of mechanisms, sensors, cameras and lights, then functional checks, dimensional measurements, interior panels and pressure seals.
Airbus has moved away from hydraulic door actuation. Electrically powered geared rotary actuators open the door, and a fully electric sliding latch locks it. Airbus says the door opens or closes in about a minute, can be operated in winds of up to 40 kt, and is designed for temperatures from -45°C to +55°C. The company says the width allows oversized items such as turbofan engines to be loaded in one pass.
The door and its actuation were validated in Bremen, Germany, before the first aircraft was complete. The Cargo Door Actuation System Integration Bench, a frame weighing almost 20 tonnes, tested the all-electric drive and the latching system. “Cargo Zero”, a 24 m partial full-scale replica of the cargo hold, simulated extreme floor flex and floor-tilt angles for the cargo loading system.
Systems New to the A350
Airbus lists about ten major systems that are new or substantially modified compared with the passenger aircraft. They are the main-deck cargo loading system, the main-deck door, a courier area with seats for up to 10 people, an anti-tail-tipping warning system, a main-deck drainage system, new water and waste and oxygen systems, multi-zone air distribution, onboard connectivity, and video monitoring.
These systems changed the ground-test work at the final assembly line. Guillaume Terrien, who leads A350F ground-test design, said testability requirements from the assembly line have been part of the aircraft's design since the definition phase in 2021. According to Airbus, about 40% of the roughly 200 serial ground-test instructions used for the A350 passenger aircraft were created or modified for the freighter.
Some of those tests are unusual. For the drainage system, the 50 m main deck is flooded with more than 180 litres of water with the floor held at zero degrees of inclination, to check tightness and drainage. The tail-tipping warning cannot be tested by tipping the aircraft, so ground equipment simulates the landing gear signals that trigger the warning, and technicians confirm that the audible and visual alerts work and that loading stops. For the cargo loading system, which has hundreds of electrical floor components, a self-test started from the cockpit checks more than 1,300 wires at power-on in a few minutes.
The two flight-test aircraft also carry 55 ground-test requirements for development and certification that are validated with the authorities. These include a maximum payload test with the full 111 tonnes on board, to check loading sequences and door operation, and a pressurisation test in which cameras, displacement sensors and microphones monitor how the door behaves during pressure cycles.
Temperature Control for Perishables and Livestock
Airbus lists pharmaceuticals, perishables and livestock that need temperature control among the loads the A350F is designed to carry. The company says the aircraft can control temperature in each compartment on both the main and lower decks, anywhere from 4°C to 26°C. The air-conditioning system also keeps air from the cargo compartments separate from the cockpit, courier area and crew rest, so smells do not reach the occupied areas.
Airbus says the A350F can carry live animals such as horses, cows and pigs. It adds that the 6,000 ft cabin altitude, the same as on the A350 passenger aircraft, will help with the comfort of the animals on board.
For African exporters of cut flowers, fresh fruit, fish and pharmaceuticals, the value of any freighter lies in how precisely it controls temperature and how reliably it is available on the key routes. The A350F addresses the first point. The second depends on which operators order the type and where they fly it.
What the Flight-Test Campaign Covers
MSN 700 is fitted with a tail skid and bumper and will focus on handling qualities, autopilot and performance. The second aircraft, MSN 701, is at an advanced stage of final assembly and is due to enter the paint shop in the next few weeks. It will cover systems testing, including air conditioning, water and waste and smoke detection, as well as the hot- and cold-weather campaigns.
The A350F is powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines. Airbus quotes a payload of up to 111 tonnes and a range of up to 8,700 km (4,700 nm). The airframe is built from more than 70% advanced materials. Airbus says this makes the A350F's empty weight about 35 tonnes lower than other large widebody freighters and its maximum take-off weight 46 tonnes lower than competitor aircraft, and it claims up to 40% lower fuel burn and CO₂ emissions than competing freighters with similar payload and range. Airbus also says the A350F is the first new freighter to fully meet ICAO's latest CO₂ emissions standard. These are manufacturer figures, and certification and early service will show how the aircraft performs in operation.
Orders and Outlook
At the end of August 2026, Airbus had recorded 115 A350F orders from 14 disclosed customers, and says it has captured up to 59% of the large-freighter category. Atlas Air Worldwide is the largest customer with 20 aircraft, ordered in March 2026. Air China Cargo increased its order to 10 in May.
Airbus's Global Market Forecast predicts that the world freighter fleet will grow by 45% by 2044. It says about 2,605 additional freighters will be needed over 20 years, 935 of them new-build aircraft, with air cargo demand growing by 3.3% a year. First customer deliveries will follow certification.
