The first BelugaXL rolled out of the assembly line on 4 January 2018, unpainted and with no engines.
Fewer than 1,000 flight test hours are planned for its certification campaign.
 After fitting its engines, it was ground tested for months to assess its systems operation, while bench tests in Toulouse and Hamburg, on flight simulators and in laboratories, simulate flight loads on full-scale copies of specific joints between the upper bubble and the lower fuselage, clearing the aircraft for flight then type certification.

In March 2018, the first (MSN1824) was having its engines fitted while the second (MSN1853) was 30% converted.
 After successful landing-gear and flight-control system checks, MSN1824 will be fuel and ground tested.
 The third will begin its conversion before the end of 2018.
 MSN1853 will be first operational in 2019 after proving work in 11 European stations, while MSN1824 flight instrumentation will be disassembled.
 It was rolled out with its engines but no winglets in April 2018.

It passed the Ground Vibration Test in early June 2018, with ONERA and DLR measuring its dynamic behaviour compared to flight envelope theoretical models.
 The flight-test programme should last 600h.
 The second plane had its lower fuselage completed by mid-June before upper shell structural work and freight door fitting after summer for a completion by September or October.
 The first flight was on 19 July 2018.
In February 2019, the first aircraft flew to various destinations, including Airbus's wing plants in Bremen, Germany and Broughton, Wales.

The first Beluga XL to enter service will be the second aircraft built, which rolled out on 19 March 2019; the first test aircraft will be retrofitted after certification.

The second aircraft (MSN1853) commenced flight-testing on 15 April and by then, the first (MSN1824) had completed more than 140 test flights over 500h, the final stage before certification.

A third airframe was undergoing conversion, expected to last until the fourth quarter of 2019, for delivery in 2020.
Operations were expected to start with two XLs in the second half of 2019.

After more than 200 flight tests over 700 hours, the BelugaXL received its EASA type certification on 13 November 2019.
The first BelugaXL rolled out of the assembly line on 4 January 2018, unpainted and with no engines. Fewer than 1,000 flight test hours are planned for its certification campaign.  After fitting its engines, it was ground tested for months to assess its systems operation, while bench tests in Toulouse and Hamburg, on flight simulators and in laboratories, simulate flight loads on full-scale copies of specific joints between the upper bubble and the lower fuselage, clearing the aircraft for flight then type certification.
In March 2018, the first (MSN1824) was having its engines fitted while the second (MSN1853) was 30% converted.  After successful landing-gear and flight-control system checks, MSN1824 will be fuel and ground tested.  The third will begin its conversion before the end of 2018.  MSN1853 will be first operational in 2019 after proving work in 11 European stations, while MSN1824 flight instrumentation will be disassembled.  It was rolled out with its engines but no winglets in April 2018.
It passed the Ground Vibration Test in early June 2018, with ONERA and DLR measuring its dynamic behaviour compared to flight envelope theoretical models.  The flight-test programme should last 600h.  The second plane had its lower fuselage completed by mid-June before upper shell structural work and freight door fitting after summer for a completion by September or October.  The first flight was on 19 July 2018. In February 2019, the first aircraft flew to various destinations, including Airbus's wing plants in Bremen, Germany and Broughton, Wales.
The first Beluga XL to enter service will be the second aircraft built, which rolled out on 19 March 2019; the first test aircraft will be retrofitted after certification. 
The second aircraft (MSN1853) commenced flight-testing on 15 April and by then, the first (MSN1824) had completed more than 140 test flights over 500h, the final stage before certification.
A third airframe was undergoing conversion, expected to last until the fourth quarter of 2019, for delivery in 2020. Operations were expected to start with two XLs in the second half of 2019.
After more than 200 flight tests over 700 hours, the BelugaXL received its EASA type certification on 13 November 2019.
Airbus Beluga XL