With an Airbus test crew aboard, the BelugaXL completes its maiden flight on 19 July 2018.

Performed from Toulouse-Blagnac Airport in southwestern France, it marks the start of this next-generation oversize airlifter’s flight test and certification campaign.

A fleet of BelugaXLs will replace the current BelugaST versions, which are used to transport completed aircraft sections among the company’s European production sites and to its final assembly lines in Europe.