New Airbus A350F cargo aircraft makes first flight

In Toulouse, France, the first test flight was made by a new Airbus A350F cargo plane. In total, it will have about 400 hours of certification testing. The development of the aircraft took about 5 years.

Once the test is completed, the manufacturer hopes to obtain a certificate for the A350F from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). This will allow the company to start the first deliveries, which are currently scheduled for the second half of 2027. Airbus has already received 115 orders for the A350F.

The new aircraft is built on the A350 platform and is specifically designed for cargo transportation. It is capable of carrying up to 111 tons of payload over a distance of up to 8700 km. The key difference between the A350F and its competitors was the industry’s largest cargo hatch on the main deck. Its width is about 4.4 m, which allows you to load not only standard containers and pallets, but also oversized cargo.

Le Figaro said the A350F would capture 50 percent of the global cargo market, which has been dominated by its American rival Boeing since the 1970s with its 777F and 747F.

Ekaterina Naumova