Plane spotters and aviation enthusiasts were in for a treat recently as they got a glimpse of the one of the worlds largest cargo planes arriving in the city and taking off a day later.
The Airbus Beluga, which is also known as the A300-600ST Super Transporter, landed at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) on February 23.
The aircraft with the call sign BCO4010 landed at KIA at 6.14 p.m. after nearly a five-hour flight from the Da Nang International Airport in Vietnam. After an overnight stay, the aircraft took off on February 24 at 2.14 p.m. to the Dubai World Central International Airport in the U.A.E.
“An interesting and unusual visitor to @BLRAirport today. Lovely to see the #Beluga at #BLRAirport,” Satyaki Raghunath, Chief Operating Officer, KIA, posted on X (formerly Twitter).
The Beluga whale shaped aircraft is known for its ability to transport voluminous cargo holds. The overall length of the aircraft is 56.16 metres with a height of 17.25 metres. Its wingspan measures 44.84 metres. The aircraft can carry about 40 tonnes payload with a range of 1,650 km.
According to Airbus BelugaSTs have been operating for Airbus’ own industrial airlift needs since the mid-1990s, and are progressively being replaced by a fleet of six new-generation BelugaXL versions.
KIA is no stranger to seeing unusual metal birds make a pitstop, as the Antonov An-124 Ruslan, the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy have landed at the airport and besides it has also hosted the B-1B Lancer bombers.