On what date did the Airbus A320 receive European certification?

The Airbus A320 received European certification on 26 February 1988.

The certification cleared the A320 for commercial airline operations after a flight-test program involving several prototype aircraft. The aircraft entered service shortly afterward with Air France, its launch operator, in 1988.

The A320 was significant because it combined a two-person flight deck with digital fly-by-wire controls and side-stick controllers. Those features helped establish the operating philosophy later used across much of the Airbus commercial-aircraft family.

Certification is not the same as the first flight. The A320 first flew in 1987, while certification came in 1988 after regulators assessed its systems, handling, performance and reliability. A common mix-up is also confusing European certification with the aircraft’s later certification by aviation authorities in other markets.