On 24 February 1969, Kees van Meerten, Fokker Board member, received the Certificate of Airworthiness from Willem Jan Kruys, Director General of the Dutch National Aviation Authority.

A major revision was the F28-4000, which was powered by quieter Rolls-Royce Spey 555-15H engines, a redesigned cockpit, and a modified wing, and had a further increased seating capacity up to 85 passengers.

[2] Around this time, British European Airways (BEA) released a specification that called for a high-speed regional airliner powered by turbofan engines.

[3] According to aviation publication Flying, Fokker's prospective jetliner design was heavily shaped by feedback and experiences from its existing customers of the F27, particularly those in the crucial North American market.

As such, American design methodologies and preferences were incorporated, reportedly emphasising simplicity, as well as efforts to minimise both language and trade barriers.

[6] The design was capable of speeds well in excess of turboprop-powered competitors, but retained a relatively low cruise speed in comparison to contemporary jet-powered designs, facilitating its use of a relatively straight low-mounted wing and achieving favourable low-speed characteristics as to enable the type's use from 85% of existing airports used by the F27 and the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3.

According to Flying, the tentative airliner could achieve double the productivity of the preceding F27, while the company itself referred to the jetliner as a complement to its turboprop-powered sibling.

[7] However, when Fokker wanted to open contract negotiations, Bristol Siddeley told them that engine was no longer available as the market was too small when they lost the BAC 1-11 project.

[10] During 1987, production of the type was terminated in favour of two newer derivative airliners, the Fokker 70 and the larger 100; by this point, a total of 241 airframes had been constructed.

While the first order for the type had been placed by German airline LTU, the first revenue-earning flight was conducted by Braathens, which eventually operated a fleet of five F28s, on 28 March 1969.

Fuel is stored within both the outer wing and the fuselage; additional pylon-mounted tanks could be installed for extended range operations if so required.

Excluding the use of thrust reversers also meant that the chance of the engines ingesting debris was lessened when being operated upon unpaved airstrips.

[9] The F28 is powered by a pair of Rolls-Royce Spey turbofan engines;[14] dependent on model, these would be were capable of generating up to 9,850 lbf (43.9 kN) of thrust.

[2] One uncommon feature of the F28 was the movable split-sections installed on the tail cone; these would be hydraulically opened outwards to act as a variable air brake.

This version was powered by quieter Spey 555-15H engines, and had an increased seating capacity (up to 85 passengers), a larger wingspan with reinforced wings, a new cockpit, and a new "wide-look" interior featuring enclosed overhead lockers and a less 'tubular' look.