{"id":102838,"date":"2025-07-11T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T20:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/?p=102838"},"modified":"2025-07-11T01:37:17","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T20:07:17","slug":"airbus-belugaxl-emergency-landing-at-toulouse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/airbus-belugaxl-emergency-landing-at-toulouse\/","title":{"rendered":"Airbus BelugaXL Flight Makes Emergency Landing at Toulouse"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

TOULOUSE-<\/strong> Airbus Transport International operated Airbus<\/a> A330-700L, popularly known as BelugaXL, a cargo flight from Madrid Base A\u00e9rea de Getafe (QYM) to Hamburg Airport (HAM), made an emergency landing at Toulouse-Blagnac Airport (TLS) on July 10, 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Airbus officially ended its Beluga Transport cargo operations just 14 months after receiving its own Air Operator Certificate (AOC) in January 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Beluga fleet, once central to Airbus\u2019s internal logistics between key European manufacturing sites, such as Hamburg, Toulouse, and Broughton, now focuses entirely on Airbus\u2019s internal transport needs<\/strong>, rather than serving external clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Airbus
Photo: FlightRadar24<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Airbus BelugaXL Emergency Landing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to FlightRadar24 data, Airbus BelugaXL<\/a> operated flight BGA163H<\/strong> took off from Madrid at 10:30 UTC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After being airborne for over 30 minutes, the crew reported a depressurization issue<\/strong>. Following this, the crew dropped altitude from 30,000 feet to a safer 10,000 feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later, the pilots<\/a> declared an emergency and decided to make an unscheduled landing at Toulouse, the nearest airport and a major Airbus production base. The aircraft landed safely at Toulouse at 11:40 UTC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The flight was operated by an Airbus A330-700L (BelugaXL 2), registered as F-GXLH<\/strong>. Further, it is a 6.2-year-old<\/strong> aircraft powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 700\u00a0engines<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aircraft remains grounded at Toulouse at the time of writing this article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Airbus
Photo: Cl\u00e9ment Alloing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Similar Incident<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

An Airbus Beluga XL (BGA) made an unscheduled landing at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS)<\/a> on September 10, 2024, after declaring an emergency mid-flight over the Netherlands. The aircraft, en route from Saint-Nazaire Montoir Airport (SNR) to Hamburg Finkenwerder Airport (XFW), landed safely around 3 PM local time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Airbus Beluga XL, registration F-GXLI, was operating a flight from Saint-Nazaire (SNR), an Airbus component manufacturing hub, to Hamburg Finkenwerder (XFW), the location of Airbus’ main German assembly facility. The flight departed at 1:32 PM and began cruising at 34,000 feet by 1:56 PM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, at 2:23 PM, while flying over Belgium, the aircraft began descending. Within seven minutes, it had reached 10,000 feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The crew declared an emergency by squawking 7700 due to a pressurization issue at 2:35 PM while over Rotterdam. The aircraft then diverted to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS), landing safely at 2:57 PM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"PARIS-
Photo: By aeroprints.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=32535925<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

About BelugaXL Fleet<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Airbus\u2019s Beluga fleet, built on the A300-600ST platform, was originally created to carry oversized aircraft parts between manufacturing sites. By the early 1990s, Airbus needed a modern replacement for the aging Aero Spacelines Super Guppies, which had become costly and maintenance-heavy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of acquiring third-party cargo aircraft, Airbus formed Super Airbus Transport International (SATIC) in August 1991.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company developed a modified version of the Airbus A300-600. The first Beluga made its maiden flight on 13 September 1994 and entered service in 1995. Airbus ultimately built five aircraft, designated A300-600ST, with no external sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the 2010s, Airbus developed the BelugaXL\u2014a larger, more efficient aircraft based on the A330-200 platform. The BelugaXL made its debut in January 2020 and was designed to gradually replace the original Belugas, which are now over 30 years old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 25 January 2022, Airbus launched Beluga Transport as a commercial outsize cargo service, repurposing its existing fleet for third-party freight. The operation received its own AOC and ran for just over a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stay tuned with us. Further, follow us on social media for the latest updates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Join us on\u00a0Telegram Group\u00a0<\/a>for the Latest Aviation Updates. Subsequently, follow us on\u00a0Google News<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Airbus BelugaXL will Bring Spare Parts to Repair Collided British Airways A350 at Heathrow<\/a><\/blockquote>