Airbus BelugaXL Flight Makes Emergency Landing at Toulouse

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

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

The Beluga fleet, once central to Airbus’s internal logistics between key European manufacturing sites, such as Hamburg, Toulouse, and Broughton, now focuses entirely on Airbus’s internal transport needs, rather than serving external clients.

Photo: FlightRadar24

Airbus BelugaXL Emergency Landing

According to FlightRadar24 data, Airbus BelugaXL operated flight BGA163H took off from Madrid at 10:30 UTC.

After being airborne for over 30 minutes, the crew reported a depressurization issue. Following this, the crew dropped altitude from 30,000 feet to a safer 10,000 feet.

Later, the pilots 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.

The flight was operated by an Airbus A330-700L (BelugaXL 2), registered as F-GXLH. Further, it is a 6.2-year-old aircraft powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines

The aircraft remains grounded at Toulouse at the time of writing this article.

Photo: Clément Alloing

Similar Incident

An Airbus Beluga XL (BGA) made an unscheduled landing at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS) 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.

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.

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

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.

Photo: By aeroprints.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32535925

About BelugaXL Fleet

Airbus’s 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.

Instead of acquiring third-party cargo aircraft, Airbus formed Super Airbus Transport International (SATIC) in August 1991.

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.

In the 2010s, Airbus developed the BelugaXL—a 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.

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.

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