The BAe ATP was an airliner designed as an evolution of the Hawker Siddeley HS 748. The fuel crisis and increasing worries about aircraft noise led business planners at British Aerospace to believe that there was a market for a short-range, low-noise, fuel-efficient turboprop aircraft.

The airframe of the HS 748 was redesigned with a lengthened 26.01 m body and a 30.62 m wing span. Minor modifications were made to the nose and tail shapes, as well as smaller windows on a shorter pitch. The twin Rolls-Royce Dart engines were replaced with Pratt & Whitney Canada PW126 fuel efficient engines. A custom designed, slow-turning, six-blade propeller was developed by Hamilton Standard.

The aircraft first flew in August 1986 and entered service with British Midland in 1988. The type has an advanced EFIS Flight Deck, and has a good short-field performance. In addition to these virtues, it is also very quiet upon take off.
In total 64 aircraft were assembled at BAe's Woodford and Prestwick facilities with the manufacture of the airframe and wings undertaken at Chadderton. Production ended at Prestwick in 1996. The plane can accommodate between 64 and 72 passengers depending on the seat configuration. The biggest operators of the aircraft are British Airways CitiExpress and West Air Sweden.