The Airbus BelugaXL transport aircraft has entered swimmingly into service. The manufacturer noted the new jet is the first of six planned BelugaXL aircraft providing 30% more transport capacity. This whale-like transport is 63 meters long and 8 meters wide and claims to have the largest cargo bay cross-section of any existing cargo aircraft in the world.
The new aircraft has a maximum payload of 51 metric tons, and a range of 4,000 km (2200 nautical miles) and made its first flight in mid-January. It is based on an A330-200 freighter and is powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines. This internal aircraft program was awarded Type Certification by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in November 2019, following an intensive flight-test campaign.
Airbus plans to introduce five additional BelugaXL aircraft between 2020 and 2023.
