Editing Airbus Beluga (section)

==Operational history==
[[File:Airbus Beluga CBR 2003 Pryde.jpg|thumb|A BelugaST in early livery, 2003]]
[[File:F-GSTB - 2 Airbus A300B4-608ST Beluga Airbus (8634655670).jpg|thumb|Fuselage nose sections being unloaded at Hamburg Finkenwerder, 2013]]
In January 1996, the Beluga formally entered service, ferrying components from various aerospace sites to the final assembly lines.<ref name = "giz mag">{{cite web |last = Hanlon |first = Mike |url = http://www.gizmag.com/go/4199/ |title = The Beluga drops in over Paris |publisher = Gizmag |language = en-gb |date = 26 June 2005}}</ref> The geographic location of Airbus manufacturing is not only influenced by cost and convenience; it is also a matter of aviation history and national interests. Traditionally, each of the Airbus partners makes an entire aircraft section, which would then be transported to a central location for final assembly; even after the integration of Airbus into a single firm, the arrangement had largely remained the same, with Airbus partners becoming subsidiaries or contractors of the multinational pan-European company. The details vary from one model to another, but the general arrangement is for the wings and landing gear to be made in the UK, the tail and doors in Spain, the fuselage in Germany, and the nose and centre-section in France, with final assembly in either [[Toulouse]], France; [[Hamburg]], Germany; or [[Seville]], Spain.{{efn|Narrowbody assembly is also carried out at [[Mobile, Alabama]], in the U.S.}}

On 24 October 1997, the last of Airbus's Super Guppy freighters was retired and its outsize cargo mission from that point onwards being exclusively performed by the new A300-600ST fleet.<ref name=Flight5May1998/> In 1997, the second year of Beluga operations, the fleet accumulated in excess of 2,500 flight hours across more than 1,400 flights.<ref name=Flight5May1998/> By 2012, the fleet was performing roughly 5,000 flight hours per year and further increases were being publicly anticipated by Airbus.<ref name="cnn2015" />

Various infrastructure upgrades have been made at multiple locations to better accommodate the Beluga, many of which being delivered after its entry to service. In 2011, [[Pau Pyrénées Airport]], a site routinely visited by Belugas, became the first airport in Europe to deploy the [[European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service]], which accurately guides the Beluga and other aircraft during landing.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.gpsdaily.com/reports/Europe_first_EGNOS_airport_to_guide_down_giant_Beluga_aircraft_999.html |title = Europe's first EGNOS airport to guide down giant Beluga aircraft |publisher = GPS Daily |date = 11 May 2011}}</ref> In 2015, a dedicated Beluga loading station was opened at [[Hawarden Airport]], preventing high winds from disrupting future operations.<ref>{{cite web |last = Hughes |first = Owen |url = http://www.dailypost.co.uk/business/business-news/look-airbus-30m-beluga-station-9701814 |title = LOOK: Airbus' £30m Beluga station ensures wind does not halt play |publisher = Daily Post |language = en-gb |date = 22 July 2015}}</ref> A two-bay loading dock was opened in Toulouse in 2019, receiving 85–100 flights per week, as the five A300-600STs are operated 7,600 hours a year together.<!--ref name=flight11Mar2020--> By enclosing the forward section, including the open large cargo door, a faster one hour and 20 minutes [[Aircraft ground handling|turnaround]], down from two hours and 30 minutes, could be achieved, along with reduced weather-related restrictions.<ref name=flight11Mar2020>{{cite news |url = https://www.flightglobal.com/aerospace/how-airbus-has-optimised-its-beluga-operation/137185.article |title = How Airbus has optimised its Beluga operation |date = 11 March 2020 |first = Michael |last = Gubisch |language = en-gb |work = flightglobal}}</ref>

In addition to its primary supply duties to Airbus' production facilities, Belugas have often performed charter flights for various purposes. In 1997, ATI claimed that it had to reject eight out of ten requests for commercial Beluga flights, the fleet being able to spare only 130 flight hours for such duties that year.<ref name=Flight5May1998/> But as more Beluga aircraft were put into service, availability increased drastically, rising to 600 flight hours in 1998 and around 1,000 flight hours in 1999; this effectively enabled one of the five Beluga aircraft to spend much of its operating hours performing charter flights.<ref name=Flight5May1998/> Amongst the early customers chartering Beluga flights was Boeing.<ref name=Flight5May1998/>

In June 1997, a world record was set for the most voluminous payload to be carried by an aircraft when a Beluga was used to transport a chemical tank for a [[merchant vessel]] from [[Clermont-Ferrand]] to [[Le Havre]], France.<ref name=Flight5May1998/> In February 2003, a single Beluga performed the farthest distance charter flight ever, having flown for 25 hours (not including refuelling stops) to transport two complete [[NHI NH90]] helicopters along with a single [[Eurocopter Tiger]] attack helicopter from [[Marseille]], France, to [[Melbourne]], Australia, for the [[Australian International Airshow|Avalon Airshow]].<ref name = "giz mag"/>

[[File:F-GSTD Beluga Airbus 4 (7801240238).jpg|thumb|left|Front view of an inflight Beluga showing its bulbous fuselage]]
In 1999, a Beluga carried a large painting, ''[[Liberty Leading the People]]'' by [[Eugène Delacroix]],<ref name="Hibeam">{{Cite news |url = http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-53907846.html |title = Airbus Industrie carries Delacroix painting to Japan |date =18 February 1999 |access-date = 21 October 2009 |publisher = Highbeam.com |archive-date = 6 December 2012 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20121206042450/http://www.highbeam.com/Search?searchTerm=AIRBUS+INDUSTRIE+Airbus+Industrie+carries+Delacroix+painting+to+Japan.&searchType=Article&currentPage=0&orderBy=  |language = en-gb |url-status = dead}}</ref> which had hung in the [[Louvre]] in Paris since 1874. It was flown from [[Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport|Paris]] to [[Narita International Airport|Tokyo]] via [[Bahrain International Airport|Bahrain]] and [[Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport|Kolkata]] in about 20 hours.<ref name="Superguppy">{{Cite web |url = http://www.allaboutguppys.com/beluga/600stf.htm |title = Airbus A300-600ST Super Transporter |access-date = 21 October 2009 |language = en-gb |publisher = AllAboutGuppys}}</ref> The large canvas, measuring {{Convert|2.99|m|ft|2}} high by {{Convert|3.62|m|ft|2}} long,<ref name="Superguppy" /> was too large to fit into a Boeing 747. It was transported in the vertical position inside a special pressurized container provided with isothermal protection and an anti-vibration device.<ref name="Superguppy" />

In 2004, a Beluga delivered relief supplies to the [[Indian Ocean]] region following widespread devastation of coastal areas by a major [[2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami|tsunami]]. In 2005, the type transported humanitarian aid and medical supplies from the United Kingdom and France to the [[Gulf Coast of the United States]] as part of [[disaster relief effort|disaster relief]] efforts in the aftermath of [[Hurricane Katrina]].<ref>{{cite web |last = Yarwood |first = Sam |url = http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/airbus-beluga-aid-work-remembered-9971469 |title = Airbus Beluga aid work remembered 10 years on from Hurricane Katrina |publisher = Daily Post |language = en-gb |date = 1 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |magazine = Popular Mechanics |last = Fletcher |first = Seth |title = Whale of an Airlift |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=BtEDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA14 |date = December 2005 |publisher = Hearst Magazines |language = en-gb |pages = 14–15}}</ref>

The Beluga has seen recurrent use to transport bulky objects, including vehicles, for various different [[space exploration|space programs]].<ref name=Flight5May1998/> In 2001, sections of the unmanned [[Automated Transfer Vehicle]] (ATV) space vehicle were transported by a Beluga from [[Turin]], Italy, to [[Amsterdam]], [[Netherlands]].<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_Spaceflight/ATV/Another_module_for_the_International_Space_Station_leaves_Turin |title = Another module for the International Space Station leaves Turin |publisher = European Space Agency |language = en-gb |date = 24 July 2001}}</ref> In 2004, multiple Beluga flights were made to [[Baikonur Cosmodrome]], [[Kazakhstan]], to deliver [[Astrium]]-built satellites.<ref name = "giz mag"/> In 2009, a Beluga was used to convey the [[Tranquility (ISS module)|Tranquility module]] of the [[International Space Station]] from [[Turin]] to [[Kennedy Space Center]], [[United States]].<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.dlr.de/iss/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-6220/10231_read-22332/ |title = New connecting module for the ISS |publisher = Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) |language = en-gb |date = 8 February 2010}}</ref>

On 25 January 2022, Airbus announced a service offering [[outsize cargo]] transportation using its BelugaST fleet.<ref>{{cite press release |url = https://www.airbus.com/en/newsroom/stories/2022-01-airbus-deploys-beluga-a300-600-st-fleet-to-serve-industrys-outsized-cargo |title = Airbus' deploys Beluga A300-600 ST fleet to serve industry's outsized cargo transportation needs |date = 25 January 2022 |language = en-gb |publisher = Airbus}}</ref> Airbus Beluga Transport saw additional demand after [[International sanctions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine|sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine]] in 2022 affected Russian-operated Antonov An-124 services and the destruction of the sole Antonov An-225; the company stated that it foresaw in excess of 150 such flights being performed annually.<ref>{{cite news |last1 = Perry |first1 = Dominic |title = Rolls-Royce targets Beluga as Antonov alternative |url = https://www.flightglobal.com/airlines/rolls-royce-targets-beluga-as-antonov-alternative/149329.article |work = Flight Global |date = 8 July 2022 |language = en-gb}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = https://cargofacts.com/allposts/aircraft/airbus-beluga-transport-eyes-over-150-flights-annually/ |title = Airbus Beluga Transport eyes over 150 flights annually |publisher = cargofacts.com |first = Stuart |last = Todd |date = 7 September 2022}}</ref> In September 2022, Airbus began testing a new loading system for handling outsized military cargo with the BelugaST fleet. A verification exercise was conducted with the German armed forces, the system's first customer, during which a [[Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion]] military transport helicopter was loaded into a Beluga.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.airbus.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2022-09-airbus-tests-loading-system-for-outsized-military-cargo-on-beluga |title = Airbus tests loading system for outsized military cargo on Beluga |publisher = Airbus |language = en-gb |date = 21 September 2022}}</ref>