Airbus Beluga Transport ceases ops

Airbus is terminating Airbus Beluga Transport, the business and airline the planemaker created to offer its BelugaSTs to the commercial market for outsized cargo missions. The four BelugaSTs that Airbus Beluga Transport operated will in the short term be managed under the AOC of Airbus’ in-house airline Airbus Transport International, Airbus told Cargo Facts . [caption id="attachment_57148360" align="aligncenter" width="1348"] Airbus Beluga Transport had four CF6-powered BelugaSTs in service. (Courtesy/Airbus)[/caption] No decision has been made yet on the BelugaSTs’ medium- and long-term future, and the extent to which Airbus Transport International will operate them is subject to ongoing planning, Airbus said. Airbus has suspended all flights operated by the BelugaST fleet for now, but the closure project has just started and it is too early to predict a completion date, the manufacturer said, adding that one of its main priorities during this time is to support the affected employees. An email this week to customers and other stakeholders attributed the closure to economic difficulties. Airbus Beluga Transport lost about 4.3 million euros ($4.5 million) in the eighteen months from its launch in June 2022 through Dec. 31, 2023, according to the company’s most recent financial report filed with the Toulouse Commercial Court in July 2024. Beluga family Airbus Transport International already operates six BelugaXLs, heavily modified A330-200s that replaced the A300-derived BelugaSTs to carry wings, fuselage sections and other sub-assemblies to and from Airbus’ manufacturing sites around the world. Airbus announced in January 2022 that it would make the BelugaSTs available to the external market for outsized shipments such as helicopters and satellites. Airbus created Airbus Beluga Transport as a new subsidiary airline for this separate business and obtained the AOC for it in November 2023. The four BelugaSTs previously in service with Airbus Beluga Transport all have CF6 engines: The 1996-vintage unit 751 has been in Toulouse (TLS) since Jan. 17; The 1997-vintage unit 765 has been in Toulouse (QYF) since Jan. 6; The 1998-vintage unit 776 has been in Bordeaux (BOD) since Jan. 17; and The 2000-vintage unit 796 has been at BOD since June 2024. Meanwhile, the six BelugaXLs are of 2018 to 2023 vintage and powered by Trent 700s. The final unit entered service in June 2024 after serving as the testbed for the program. Register now for Cargo Facts' essential regional events for industry stakeholders: Cargo Facts LATAM 2025 on Feb. 10-11 at the Pullman Sao Paulo Guarulhos Airport in Brazil; Cargo Facts Asia 2025 on March 24-26 at the W Shanghai in China; and Cargo Facts EMEA 2025 on May 6-8 at the Shangri-La Bosphorus in Turkey.

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