ATR 72-600F

Updated: October 2026 – At first glance a perfectly normal ATR 72: wings on top, T-tail, two propellers with six blades each. Then you notice that something is missing – not a single window in the cabin. Instead, a door almost as wide as a garage door stands out at the front of the fuselage, and the colors of an express carrier glow on the tail. That is very likely an ATR 72-600F, the only regional turboprop that a manufacturer builds as a freighter from the factory. How to recognize it, how to tell it from converted ATR freighters and where you are most likely to catch it, you will learn here.

What is the ATR 72-600F?

The ATR 72-600F is the freighter version of the ATR 72-600 – but not as a retrofit conversion, rather as a new build straight from final assembly in Toulouse. It is built by ATR, the joint venture of Airbus and the Italian group Leonardo. ATR itself describes it as the only factory-built regional freighter on the market.

The impetus came from a single large customer: on November 8, 2017, FedEx Express placed a firm order for 30 aircraft and secured options on 20 more. With that, the freighter was launched. The first flight followed on September 16, 2020, EASA certification was in place in early December 2020, and FedEx took the first aircraft in the same month. The first operations were flown by ASL Airlines Ireland on behalf of FedEx between Paris Charles de Gaulle and the Czech Republic.

Technically the -600F takes over everything that makes up the passenger ATR: glass cockpit with five large screens, Pratt & Whitney Canada turboprops, dimensions, wings and landing gear. Everything behind the cockpit is new. ATR left out the windows, rated the floor for 488 kg per square meter, installed a large cargo door of 2.95 × 1.80 meters and redesigned the rear, upward-opening door for cargo operations. Added to that are brighter LED lighting in the cargo hold, an interior lining with attachment points for cargo nets and a stronger battery so the aircraft can manage longer on the ground without external supply.

Why is such a small freighter needed? The answer lies in the express carriers’ network. Big cargo jets such as the Boeing 777F or the 757 freighters connect the hubs, but somebody has to get the shipments out into the regions. According to ATR, two out of three cargo flights in Europe and North America are shorter than 500 nautical miles – exactly the territory of a turboprop that, according to the manufacturer, burns clearly less fuel on short routes than a comparable regional jet freighter. How the big integrators build their networks is explained in the article Express integrators DHL, FedEx and UPS.

The three features that are enough to identify it

The ATR 72-600F is basically easier to recognize than its passenger sister – at least as far as the freighter character goes. Three observations are enough.

With that you know: ATR 72, freighter. Whether it is really a newly built -600F or a converted passenger aircraft, however, the outer skin doesn’t always tell you. After all, ATR freighters have existed for decades – as conversions of older passenger aircraft, partly also with a large cargo door. Final confirmation comes from the registration. How to look an aircraft up through it is covered in the article Finding a specific aircraft by registration.

New build or conversion? The ATR freighters compared

Before the -600F existed, ATR freighters came about exclusively through conversion. Specialist shops removed the cabin, reinforced the floor, closed the windows with plugs and, depending on the program, installed a large door at the front left. Many early ATR 72-200s and ATR 72-500s fly as freighters in this way today. FedEx itself operates converted ATR 72-200Fs alongside the new -600Fs.

Feature	ATR 72-600F (new build)	Converted ATR 72-500F	Converted ATR 72-200F
ICAO type designator	AT76	AT75	AT72 / AT73
Propellers	six-blade	six-blade	four-blade
Windows	never present	blanked out, outlines often visible	blanked out, outlines often visible
Cockpit	glass cockpit of the -600	older instrumentation	older instrumentation
Origin	freighter from the factory	passenger aircraft, converted later	passenger aircraft, converted later

The four-blade propellers of the early versions are the only feature you can see with confidence from a distance. Between a converted -500 and a new -600F it gets tricky: same propellers, same shape, cargo door possible on both. Here the window outlines up close decide – or registration and type code. How old a particular aircraft is, you can also find out through the registration – see Finding out an aircraft’s age. You will find more on telling freighters apart in general in the guide Recognizing cargo aircraft.

ATR 72-600F, Dash 8 or Caravan?

Small propeller freighters are common in the express carriers’ feeder networks, and not every one of them is an ATR. The finder narrows it down in three steps.

At over 32 meters, the Dash 8-400 is much longer and stands on tall legs, and the Cessna 208 Caravan plays in a completely different size class. For more detail, see the article Telling ATR and Dash 8 apart. With the smaller ATR 42-600, the length helps: it is around four and a half meters shorter and looks clearly stubbier.

FedEx Feeder: the 72-600F’s territory

Anyone who sees the -600F in operation mostly sees FedEx Feeder. Under this name, FedEx Express groups its smaller propeller aircraft that bring shipments from regional airports to the big hubs and back. The aircraft are owned by FedEx and wear its colors, but they are often flown and maintained by contract partners. In the US this runs through dry-lease contracts: FedEx provides the aircraft, the partner provides crews and technical support.

In Europe, ASL Airlines Ireland is the most important partner. The airline flew the first FedEx ATR 72-600Fs from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, FedEx’s European hub. According to current fleet overviews, ASL Airlines Ireland has around nine aircraft of this type in its fleet. Spain’s Swiftair is also listed in fleet overviews with a few ATR 72-600Fs. Later FedEx aircraft went to the US and Latin America, where the central FedEx hub at Memphis Airport holds the network together.

From 2020, FedEx has taken new -600Fs year after year. According to publicly available fleet overviews, more than two dozen aircraft were in service in 2026, with more on order. Exact numbers change with every delivery – check them live if you need them.

Place	Chance of a hit	Why
Paris Charles de Gaulle	medium to high	European FedEx hub, starting point of the feeder rotations
Regional airports in France and on the British Isles	medium	Typical destinations of feeder services – depending on the current network
USA and Latin America	medium to high	Majority of the later FedEx deliveries
DACH region	low	No known fixed focus of operations, more exceptions and ferry flights

Express freight likes to fly at the edges of the day: in the evening to the hubs, early in the morning back to the regions. That is exactly why the -600F is a night bird for many spotters. How to follow such movements live is covered in the guide to flight tracking with ADS-B. For choosing a location in Paris, the article Plane spotting at Paris Charles de Gaulle helps, and how rare your sighting really is, How rare is my sighting? puts in perspective.

Spotting plan: freighters at the edge of the day

Because express freight follows the rhythm of the hubs, a -600F session plans differently from an afternoon with leisure airlines. Instead of midday waves, evening and morning hours count. In winter that often means darkness, in summer sometimes wonderful low-angle light.

For flights after sunset, the article Photographing aircraft at night helps you. When night restrictions apply at German airports is explained in Night flight bans at German airports.

Photo tips especially for the 72-600F

A windowless fuselage quickly looks like a white wall in photos. A few tricks get more out of the subject.

Whether your location is legally fine is answered by the article Is plane spotting allowed?. And if you are specifically looking for unusual aircraft, Spotting rare aircraft offers more ideas.

Common mix-ups and how to rule them out

Conclusion

The ATR 72-600F is a specialist with a clear mission: getting express shipments from the big hubs out into the regions, and doing so more economically than a jet. For you as a spotter it is a rewarding target, because it is rare enough to stand out but flies regularly enough that you can plan for it. The windowless fuselage gives away the freighter, the registration the new build.