An Airbus BelugaXL made a rare landing at Heathrow Airport on Monday, delighting aviation enthusiasts with its distinctive, whale-like appearance.
The BelugaXL, known for its unusual shape, is used to transport large aircraft components. On this occasion, it arrived at 11 am from Toulouse, France, delivering crucial spare parts needed to repair a British Airways plane. The BA aircraft had been grounded since April due to a collision.
The sight of the BelugaXL sparked reactions on social media platform X, with users comparing the aircraft to a whale and even humorously likening it to a former footballer.
The British Airways plane had been stationary when it was struck by a Virgin Boeing 787-9, which was being towed across the airfield at the time. Fortunately, no passengers were on board during the incident.
British Airways confirmed that its engineering teams are currently assessing the damaged plane, and they have provided an alternative aircraft to minimize disruption for their customers. Photo by Brian Bukowski, Wikimedia commons.