The A350F will make its maiden flight on September 29, 2026, at 10:20 GMT+2 from Toulouse, Airbus confirmed on September 25 via social media, closing a five-year development phase for the widebody freighter.

The European airframer will livestream the first sortie of the twinjet, opening the flight to public viewing.

What does the test campaign involve?

A five-person crew will fly the first test aircraft, MSN700. The lineup comprises two pilots, one test flight engineer (TFE) and two flight test engineers (FTE).

The certification campaign is expected to last around nine months and will use two airframes: MSN700 and MSN701. Across the campaign the two aircraft will accumulate roughly 400 flight hours, according to Airbus.

Why does the A350F need a new flight envelope?

Laurent Bussiere, Lead Flight Test Engineer for the A350F programme, said the freighter's hybrid dimensions create aerodynamic and handling characteristics that differ from either A350 variant already in service.

"The A350F presents unique dimensions due to the freighter's specific fuselage configuration – which is equivalent to an A350-900 forward fuselage [length] mated to an A350-1000 rear fuselage [length] and A350-1000 wings," Bussiere said.

He added: "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 behavior of the whole system with this unique model. That's why we go into the development simulator to prepare for the first flight and the subsequent 400 flight-hour flight test campaign."

The mixed configuration affects both flight-control laws and ground handling, because the freighter introduces a new landing-gear geometry that alters runway maneuvering.

In recent weeks, MSN700 has been observed at Toulouse performing high-speed rejected takeoffs, a standard pre-maiden-flight exercise that validates braking, control and engine response at near-decision speeds.

How did Airbus get here?

Airbus framed the sortie as the conclusion of a ground-test cycle that began years before assembly of the first airframe. The company's statement that the first flight follows "five years of detailed planning, component and demonstrator testing" sets the scope of the development effort that preceded the September 29 sortie.

Earlier this month, the airframer confirmed it had moved from its "Virtual First Flight" milestone – a simulation-based clearance gate – to a real test flight. That step typically marks the final readiness review before taxi and takeoff.

What comes after the first flight?

A nine-month certification timeline would put the programme on a path toward type approval in mid-2027, assuming no major findings during the 400-hour flight-test programme. Airbus has not yet committed to a specific first delivery date for the A350F, leaving the gap between certification and customer handover to be filled in subsequent announcements.

The September 29 first flight now sets a hard reference point against which subsequent flight-test progress, type certification and entry into revenue service for the A350F customer base can be measured.