Airbus’s A350 XWB aircraft completes route-proving tests

Airbus’s A350-900 aircraft has successfully completed its route-proving drive, paving the way towards type certification in the third quarter this year.

Carried out using A350 MSN5, the trip involved flying over the North Pole, as well as stops at 14 international airports.

The aircraft flew approximately 151,300km in roughly 180 flight hours.

It was operated by Airbus and Qatar flight crews on its route from Doha to Perth, Moscow and Helsinki. The European Aviation Safety Agency’s Airworthiness Authority pilots also participated in the flight.

A spokesperson from Airbus said: "A major highlight was the trip from Johannesburg Tambo International Airport, located at 5,558ft (1,694m) above sea-level, to Sydney, demonstrating the A350’s excellent performance at high altitude airports.

"The flights from Johannesburg to Sydney and Auckland to Santiago de Chile demonstrated also its capability to fly ultra-long-haul routes or extended range twin operations."

The aircraft maker said that standard maintenance, typical airport operations and compatibility checks were carried out during the flights.

The A350 XWB also successfully demonstrated automatic-landing capability during a flight at Johannesburg.

The technical route proving started on 24 July and involved four trips starting from Toulouse.

The first trip included destinations such as Canada through the North Pole and Frankfurt, followed by a trip to Asia involving flights to Singapore and Hong Kong. The third trip took place between Johannesburg and Sydney.

Departing from Toulouse, the final trip was to Doha, then onto Perth and back to Doha. From Doha, it flew to Moscow, before travelling to Helsinki and back to Toulouse..

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Image: During route-proving tests, the A350 XWB flew approximately 151,300km in roughly 180 flight hours. Photo: courtesy of Alexandre Doumenjou.