Airbus BelugaST aircraft retired to Aeroscopia Museum in Toulouse

Airbus has officially retired one of its five BelugaST aircraft, specifically the A300-600ST with the registration F-GSTD. This aircraft has now been relocated to the Aeroscopia Museum in Toulouse, where it will be displayed permanently alongside the Concorde, Super Guppy, and A380. The BelugaST began operations in 1995 and will celebrate its 27th anniversary on December 18, 2025. Designed to succeed the Super Guppy, this aircraft is recognized for its distinctive whale-like design and was capable of transporting up to 40 tonnes of large aircraft components across Europe. Throughout its service, it achieved significant milestones, including a world record for the heaviest airlift in 1997 and transporting Eugène Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People in 1999. Additionally, it carried the Columbus module for the International Space Station and three Airbus Helicopters rotorcraft to Melbourne in 2003. Earlier this year, Airbus announced that the BelugaST fleet would be phased out, with the larger BelugaXL fleet taking over component transport by mid-2027 across 11 Airbus locations in Europe.