Airbus retires Beluga ST5 cargo aircraft after 25 years, converts it to STEM education facility
The fifth and final Beluga ST aircraft completed its last flight Wednesday, ending nearly three decades transporting aircraft components across Europe.
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Airbus retired its Beluga ST5 aircraft on Wednesday after 25 years of service, with the aircraft touching down at Hawarden Airport near Broughton in North Wales following a final flight from Bordeaux, France. The aircraft, designated F-GSTF, was delivered to Airbus in January 2001 and was the youngest of five Beluga airframes in the fleet.
The Beluga ST, a modified version of the Airbus A300 airliner, was designed to replace an aging fleet of four Aero Spaciales Super Guppy turboprop transports. The aircraft earned its nickname from its distinctive white, dome-shaped fuselage, which resembled a whale. Throughout its operational life, F-GSTF carried the number 5 on its tailfins to denote it as the fifth Beluga airframe.
Over its nearly 30-year career, the aircraft completed approximately 13,300 journeys, transporting aircraft wings and other aerostructures between Airbus assembly plants across Europe, Brazil, and Florida. The aircraft operated from its home base in Wales to destinations including Toulouse, Bremen, and other Airbus facilities worldwide.
Airbus is now converting the retired aircraft into a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education facility at the Broughton site. The aircraft will serve as a visual centerpiece for educational programs designed in collaboration with local schools to align with the UK national curriculum. The facility will also showcase the history of aviation in the United Kingdom.
Gareth Davies, head of Airbus Broughton, stated that the aircraft will be used to promote STEM fields and inspire young people to consider careers in aerospace. "This particular Beluga first took flight 25 years ago, and since then has played a crucial part in transporting our wings from Broughton to Airbus' mainland European sites," Davies said. "By transforming this aircraft into an education facility, we aren't just preserving our history, we are using it to fuel the future of UK aerospace and inspire the talent of tomorrow."
The retirement of the Beluga ST fleet is part of Airbus's transition to the larger and more efficient A330-743L BelugaXL, with the entire original Beluga fleet scheduled for withdrawal by 2027. The BelugaXL offers greater cargo capacity and improved operational efficiency compared to the original Beluga ST design.