Airbus has made the decision to terminate its oversized cargo transport business, with operational issues posing too great a challenge.
A spokesperson for Airbus said the Beluga Transport (AiBT) business was closed due to operational issues, highlighting that the cargo market was overall “not the reason” for the business to close, despite some shift towards sea freight transport.
“Operational issues were the biggest challenge instead,” the spokesperson added.
The BelugaST is a special freighter with a main cargo deck being quite high for outsized cargo payload. For ground operations, a mission with the BelugaST requires specific handling procedures involving a dedicated trained crew and a trailored jig to master the loading and unloading of shipments.
AiBT operates a fleet of BelugaST aircraft first launched the outsized air cargo service in January 2022 before receiving its own air operators certificate (AOC) in November 2023.
The spokesperson confirmed: “The decision has been taken to terminate the Airbus Beluga Transport (AiBT) business for outsized cargo missions. All flights operated by the BelugaST fleet are suspended as of now.”
Airbus' other entity Airbus Transport International (ATI) will operate as normal under its own AOC to transport aircraft parts between Airbus manufacturing sites using its fleet of BelugaXL.
AiBT was not linked to Airbus' continued activities when it comes to P2F conversions or the development of the A350F.