Beluga XL Cargo Plane Lands Again at Kolkata Airport

Kolkata, Oct 14 (PTI) The Beluga XL aircraft, the world's largest cargo plane, on Monday made its second landing at Kolkata airport within a week, an official said.


The aircraft arrived here at 5.47 am from the Tianjin Binhai International Airport in China.

The purpose of the stop is crew rest, FDTL (Flight Duty Time Limitations) and refuelling, an Airports Authority of India (AAI) spokesperson said.

It is scheduled to depart at 3.30 pm on Tuesday and head to Bahrain International Airport, he said.


Kolkata got its first glance at the Beluga XL, which is also the biggest Airbus Beluga series aircraft, when it landed at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport here on October 8.


The plane, carrying critical components for the Airbus A321, had departed at 5:19 PM on October 9, and headed towards Tianjin Binhai International Airport in China.

The aircraft was expected to return to Kolkata on October 13 but it got delayed by almost 24 hours, the AAI spokesperson said.


The overall length of the aircraft is 207 ft, with a height of 62 ft and wing span of 197 ft and 10 inches, according to data on the Airbus website.


The Beluga XL is the upgraded and bigger version of Beluga ST.

“For the first time, Kolkata's NSCBI Airport welcomed the Airbus Beluga XL, the largest in its series, carrying essential aircraft components. The flight stopped in Kolkata for crew rest, FDTL and refuelling, as it's the only airport in Eastern India equipped to handle this aircraft,” the airport authorities had earlier posted on X.