The Airbus Beluga XL aircraft landed at Kolkata International Airport on Tuesday at 10:43 pm, marking the first time this specific aircraft has arrived at the airport. The aircraft was en route from the Airbus factory in Toulouse, France, to an Airbus facility in Tianjin, China, and made a stop in Kolkata for refueling and crew rest purposes.
The Beluga XL, an Airbus A330-743L model, was carrying critical equipment and parts. The stop in Kolkata followed a 5-hour, 28-minute flight from Bahrain International Airport. After refueling on Wednesday evening, the aircraft is scheduled to depart for Tianjin Binhai International Airport at 5:50 pm, with three pilots and one engineer on board.
Kolkata International Airport was selected as the only suitable stopover point in eastern India, where the crew could rest in accordance with flight duty regulations.
The Beluga XL is designed to transport oversized cargo, including aircraft components such as wings and fuselages. It is an upgraded version of the Beluga ST, offering increased capacity. The aircraft is 63.1 meters long with a wingspan of 60.3 meters and can carry a payload of up to 51 tons. Its cargo hold is large enough to transport two A350 wings simultaneously.
This stop in Kolkata is part of the aircraft’s global operations in transporting large Airbus components between facilities.
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