Kolkata: The world’s largest non-military aircraft touched down at Kolkata airport for a technical halt on Tuesday night. The plane was accorded a water cannon salute on arrival. On Wednesday morning, it became the star attraction on the tarmac as airport employees and airlines’ staff queued up to catch a glimpse of the dolphin-faced plane tower over all other planes parked at the airport.
The aircraft on its way from Airbus’s Toulouse facility in France to its unit in Tianjin, China, had taken off from Bahrain International Airport at 2.56 pm (local time) on Tuesday before touching down at Kolkata airport at 10.43 pm.
It departed at 5.19 pm on Wednesday after the crew comprising three pilots and an engineer had rested and the plane had been refuelled. It was headed to Tianjin Binhai International Airport. The plane will again be back at Kolkata airport on Oct 13 on its way back to Toulouse.
“The flight arrived at Kolkata for crew rest, crew flight duty time limitations (FDTL) and fuel stop as Kolkata is the only suitable airport in eastern India to accommodate this type of aircraft,” said Kolkata airport director Pravat Ranjan Beuria.
The Beluga XL is the upgraded and bigger version of the Beluga ST that visited Kolkata four years ago. The former is 7-m longer and 1-m wider than the latter. The length of the Beluga XL at 63.1 m is almost twice that of an Airbus A320 aircraft that commonly flies on domestic routes and is 37.6 m long. Its height is 18.9 m against an A320 that is 11.8 m high. While the Beluga's wingspan is 60.3 m, that of A320 is 35.8 m.
The giant Beluga XL can carry within its belly two Airbus wings or the largest A350 fuselage section. It is more than twice the size of a blue whale. Someone who saw the Airbus Beluga XL after it landed shared on social media, “I had the amazing opportunity to spot the Airbus Beluga at Kolkata airport. It was an incredible sight to witness this unique plane with an iconic design in my city.” Another person wrote, “I've always thought these planes look so cute!” “Wow!!! This is such a rare photo. You’re very lucky!” added another.