The A321XLR’s first flight

Today marked a major moment in aviation with the successful first flight of Airbus’ A321XLR (Xtra Long Range) aircraft. This special aircraft, MSN 11000, took off from Hamburg-Finkenwerder Airport at 11:05 hrs CEST for a test flight which lasted approximately four hours and 35 minutes.

The aircraft’s crew consisted of experimental test pilots Thierry Diez and GabrielDiaz de Villegas Giron, as well as test engineers Frank Hohmeister, Philippe Pupin and Mehdi Zeddoun. During the flight, the crew tested the aircraft’s flight controls, engines and main systems, including flight envelope protections, both at high and low speed