Beluga XL aircraft at Kolkata Airport.
Kolkata: For the first time, the Kolkata Airport has accommodated the biggest Airbus Beluga series aircraft: Beluga XL. Beluga XL is the upgraded and bigger version of Beluga ST. Earlier, the Kolkata Airport accommodated Beluga ST.
The Beluga XL series aircraft landed here with a crew of three pilots and one engineer on Tuesday at 22.43 pm after flying from Bahrain International Airport over five hours for crew rest, crew flight duty time limitations and fuel stop as Kolkata is the only suitable airport in eastern India to accommodate this type of aircraft.
It has been parked at J1. The aircraft, originating from Toulouse Airbus Factory, is transporting some equipment and parts to its another unit based in Tianjin in China. It will be refuelled before departure at 5.50 pm on Wednesday for Tianjin.
The Beluga XL (Airbus A330-743L) is one of the large transport aircraft designed by Airbus to carry oversized cargo, primarily aircraft components such as wings and fuselages. It is an upgraded version of the original Beluga ST (A300-600ST), offering increased capacity and improved performance.
The Beluga XL is 63.1 metres long with a wingspan of 60.3 metres. Its payload capacity is around 51 tons and its cargo hold is large enough to transport two A350 wings simultaneously.
The Beluga XL series aircraft landed here with a crew of three pilots and one engineer on Tuesday at 22.43 pm after flying from Bahrain International Airport over five hours for crew rest, crew flight duty time limitations and fuel stop as Kolkata is the only suitable airport in eastern India to accommodate this type of aircraft.
It has been parked at J1. The aircraft, originating from Toulouse Airbus Factory, is transporting some equipment and parts to its another unit based in Tianjin in China. It will be refuelled before departure at 5.50 pm on Wednesday for Tianjin.
The Beluga XL (Airbus A330-743L) is one of the large transport aircraft designed by Airbus to carry oversized cargo, primarily aircraft components such as wings and fuselages. It is an upgraded version of the original Beluga ST (A300-600ST), offering increased capacity and improved performance.
The Beluga XL is 63.1 metres long with a wingspan of 60.3 metres. Its payload capacity is around 51 tons and its cargo hold is large enough to transport two A350 wings simultaneously.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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