The Airbus A300-608ST, affectionately known as the Beluga, made a historic landing at Clark International Airport on Thursday evening during a scheduled technical stop.
Carrying out its duties under the flight code 4Y-8008, the cargo flight embarked from Da Nang, Vietnam, at 5:14 PM (UTC+7), reaching Clark at 8:34 PM (UTC+8).
This noteworthy occasion marks the first-ever Airbus Beluga landing on Philippine soil.
The Airbus A300-608ST, fondly nicknamed the “Beluga” due to its resemblance to the lovable Arctic mammal, is a unique and eye-catching freighter aircraft specially designed to transport oversized cargo for Airbus’ assembly lines across Europe.
Initially, the Beluga was exclusively used by Airbus to transport aircraft parts between its various manufacturing plants, ensuring a smooth production process for the company’s commercial jets.
However, with the introduction of the newer Airbus BelugaXL (Airbus A330-743L Beluga XL), the expanded fleet allowed some of the older Beluga aircraft to be repurposed for commercial cargo transport, further extending their operational capabilities.
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