The Airbus Beluga, one of the largest cargo planes in the world, also dubbed the ‘Whale of the Sky’, touched down at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in the early hours of Friday (August 30, 2024).
The Airbus A300-608ST Beluga, with the callsign ‘BCO4003,’ arrived in Hyderabad at 12.23 a.m. on August 30, following its departure from Muscat International Airport at 7.27 p.m ( local time). The aircraft began its journey on August 27, taking off from Toulouse, France, before landing in Marseille, France. It continued its flight on August 28, departing from Marseille and landing in Cairo, Egypt. On August 29, it took off from Cairo, landed in Muscat (Oman), and then made its way to Hyderabad.
The aircraft made a stopover at RGIA for refuelling, with all necessary arrangements completed. It is scheduled to depart around 3 p.m. and will proceed to Thailand, according to the authorities of GMR Hyderabad International Airport.
This marks the Beluga’s third visit to Hyderabad, having first landed at RGIA in December 2022, followed by a second appearance in August 2023.
According to Airbus, the aircraft features a unique bulbous fuselage with a large cargo hold of 1,400 cubic metres and a maximum payload of 47 tonnes. Powered by two General Electric CF6-80C2A8 engines, it can reach a cruising speed of 750 km/h and has a range of 4,632 km. First introduced in 1995, the Beluga is essential for transporting large, bulky items that standard cargo planes cannot handle.
