Airbus Targets Late September for A350F First Flight: Report

TOULOUSE — Airbus has tentatively scheduled the first flight of its delayed A350F freighter for late September, possibly around September 24, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing industry sources.

The date is penciled in rather than fixed. Technical issues or unfavorable weather could push the flight into early October, according to the report.

Airbus has publicly kept the schedule somewhat broader. Commercial Aircraft CEO Lars Wagner told investors at the company's July 21 Business Update that the freighter would fly “towards the end of the summer.” Eight days later, Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said the aircraft remained on track to fly before the end of 2026.

The late-September target therefore narrows the window without amounting to a firm public launch date.

A Dense Certification Campaign

Once the A350F flies, Airbus plans what Faury called a “very dense” flight-test campaign. The company aims to obtain certification and make the first customer delivery ideally by the end of 2027, with deliveries in more significant numbers during 2028.

A September 24 first flight would leave just over 15 months until the end of 2027. Reuters noted that commercial-aircraft flight-test campaigns typically run for 12 to 15 months, placing Airbus's present objective at the far end of that range if the first delivery is to follow certification before year-end.

The program is not starting from zero on first-flight day. Airbus is already conducting development and certification work on the ground with two flight-test aircraft, MSN 700 and MSN 701. The manufacturer says the pair will complete 55 A350F-specific Ground Test Requirements, covering new or modified systems before and during the flight campaign.

Those systems include the main-deck cargo loading equipment, cargo door, courier area, drainage, air distribution, oxygen equipment, and a warning system designed to prevent the aircraft from tipping onto its tail during loading. Airbus has also used full-scale ground rigs to test cargo handling and the door's electric actuation before the aircraft takes flight.

Airways previously reported that MSN 700 was expected to complete about 300 flight-test hours, while MSN 701 would fly for roughly one-third as long. How quickly Airbus can complete those flights and close any findings will matter more than the maiden flight date alone.

Cargo Door Became a Schedule Pressure Point

The A350F's main-deck cargo door is both a defining feature and one of the program's most visible industrial challenges.

Reuters reported in May that cargo doors produced in Spain were facing disruption. Airbus said at the time that the freighter's first flight in 2026 and first delivery in 2027 remained on schedule.

In April, Airbus completed the first composite cargo door at its Illescas plant and sent it to the final assembly line in Toulouse for installation and testing. The clear opening is approximately 4.3 meters wide and 3.15 meters high, large enough to load outsized cargo such as modern commercial-aircraft engines without dismantling them.

The door sits in the rear fuselage to help manage the aircraft's center of gravity while loading. Unlike hydraulically operated cargo doors used on some older freighters, the A350F door opens and closes electrically and uses a new latching system. The design saves space and weight, but it also adds new hardware, sensors, and software that must be validated for first flight and certification.

Two Years Behind the Original Target

Airbus launched the A350F in 2021 and originally targeted entry into service in 2025. The current delivery objective puts the program about two years behind that first plan.

Commercial interest has grown during the delay. Airbus has now logged 107 firm A350F orders, nearly three times the 38 orders recorded for the smaller A330-200F over that aircraft's production life.

The order book gives Airbus a stronger opening in a large-freighter market long associated with Boeing. Boeing said in July that customers had placed more than 80 firm orders for its competing 777-8 Freighter.

Airbus lists the A350F with a maximum structural payload of 111 tonnes and a range of up to 4,700 nautical miles while carrying 109 tonnes. Its size, composite construction, and shared A350 systems are intended to give cargo operators a new-build replacement for older large freighters rather than a passenger aircraft converted later in life.

The next milestone is first-flight clearance, not simply reaching a date on the calendar. If MSN 700 flies in late September, Airbus will have kept the debut within the third quarter and near its stated end-of-summer window. Certification findings, regulator approvals, and the pace of the two-aircraft test campaign will then determine whether the more consequential end-2027 delivery target still holds.