Airbus Beluga, the ‘Whale of the Sky,’ lands at Hyderabad’s airport

First introduced in 1995, the Beluga is essential for transporting large, bulky items that standard cargo planes cannot handle.

Hyderabad: Airbus Beluga, one of the world’s largest cargo aircraft, landed at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in the early hours of Friday.

Known as the ‘Whale of the Sky” the Airbus A300-608ST, with the callsign ‘BCO4003,’ touched down at 12:23 am on August 30, after departing from Muscat International Airport at 7:27 pm (local time) the previous day. The aircraft resumed its journey to Thailand at 3 pm on Friday.

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The aircraft began its journey on August 27, taking off from Toulouse, France, before landing in Marseille, France. It continued its route 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.

This visit marks the third time the Beluga has been in Hyderabad’s skies, following previous landings in December 2022 and August 2023.

First introduced in 1995, the Beluga is essential for transporting large, bulky items that standard cargo planes cannot handle.