Mumbai airport welcomed the Airbus Beluga for the first time earlier this week, leaving airport workers, passengers, and plane spotters amazed. The super transporter is popular among avgeeks due to its unusual shape and size and often turns heads wherever it lands.

First time in Mumbai

On Tuesday, the whale-shaped Airbus Beluga aircraft made its first-ever appearance at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA). The A300-600ST Super Transporter touched down in Mumbai at 15:29 for a short stopover before leaving for Cairo, Egypt.

Plane spotters were in a frenzy as nobody had seen the unusual aircraft before. Airport workers and passengers were seen taking photographs of the plane and even Mumbai Airport posted a tweet about its arrival.

This is the second time in a week that CSMIA has welcomed a not-so-common aircraft. Before this, Embraer's E195-E2 jet in the "TechLion" livery made a stop in Mumbai as part of its larger Asia Tour.

Following a successful outing in China and then a three-day stint in Japan, the TechLion flew to Vietnam, landing in Hanoi on November 16th before finally heading over to Mumbai in western India on November 20th.

Not the first time in India

While the Beluga landed for the first time in Mumbai, it wasn’t its first India outing. Data from FlightRadar24.com reveals that the aircraft (F-GSTC) has been busy flying in the Middle East and Asia region across multiple destinations.

Check out more Indian aviation news here.

On November 18th, it took off from Marseille for Cairo, from where it departed for Dubai on the same day. On November 19th, it flew into Ahmedabad in Western India, before flying domestically to Kolkata on the same day.

Flight path
Photo: FlghtRadar24.com

From Kolkata, it made a short flight to Rayong in Thailand before heading to Singapore, from where it departed for its first appearance in Mumbai.

Super transporters

Airbus launched a new service in January to provide widebody cargo transportation for customers around the world with the BelugaST. The cargo airplane is based on the A300-600 design and has gone beyond its traditional roles of transfers within Airbus facilities to fly missions around the globe carrying oversized cargo.

Airbus Beluga in USA
Photo: Airbus

With the new service, up to five BelugaSTs fly large cargo for commercial customers under contract, serving industries such as engine manufacturers; space; helicopters, and manufacturing machinery; energy, oil, and gas; ground vehicles, and other military equipment; humanitarian supplies, among others.

In October, the aircraft delivered a new satellite to Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, making it its first flight in over twelve years to the US.

Have you ever seen the Airbus Beluga in real life? Please let us know in the comment section below.

  • rsz_airbus_50th_years_anniversary_formation_flight_-_air_to_air
    Airbus
    Stock Code:
    AIR
    Date Founded:
    1970-12-18
    CEO:
    Guillaume Faury
    Headquarters Location:
    Toulouse, France
    Key Product Lines:
    Airbus A220, Airbus A320, Airbus A330, Airbus A340, Airbus A350, Airbus A380
    Business Type:
    Planemaker
  • Planes parked Mumbai
    Mumbai Airport
    IATA/ICAO Code:
    BOM/VABB
    Country:
    India
    Runways :
    09/27 - 3,660m (12,000ft) | 14/32 - 2,990m (9,810ft)
    Terminals:
    Terminal 1 | Terminal 2 | General Aviation Terminal