The aircraft, fitted with specific flight test instrumentation, flew 4 hours and 10 minutes to an altitude of 25,000 feet.
The aircraft was operated by a professional Airbus Flight Test crew.
“This maiden flight is a major milestone for the A350F and for our customers around the world. “The A350F is a true game-changer for the air cargo market, offering unrivalled operational flexibility, fuel efficiency and range, as the latest development of our very successful A350 platform,” said Airbus CEO Commercial Aircraft Lars Wagner.
I am very pleased of the hard work and dedication of all of the teams who have made this achievement possible.”
The second A350F prototype (MSN 701) is in the final construction stages and is expected to go to the paint shop soon.
During this first flight, the crew performed tests to validate basic airworthiness, basic flying qualities and basic systems performance. This starts a flight test program lasting over 9 months.
The A350F is engineered to be the world’s most advanced freighter, responding to the increasing requirements of the global air freight sector.
Operators can deploy it on international long-haul routes with a range capability up to 8,700 kilometres and a payload up to 111 tonnes.
The A350F, with more than 70 per cent modern materials, delivers a 46 tonnes lower maximum take-off weight (MTOW) vs competing aircraft.
The aircraft, equipped with the newest Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines, will provide up to a 40 percent cut in fuel consumption and carbon emissions over comparable aircraft with a similar payload-range capabilities. This is the first new freighter to fully comply with the updated ICAO CO2 emission criteria.
As of the end of August 2026, the A350F had amassed 115 orders from 14 announced clients and gained up to a 59 per cent share of the large freighter market.
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