Hong Kong aviation enthusiasts were treated to a rare sight when an Airbus A300-608ST Beluga made a stop-off at the local airport on Saturday evening, marking the first time such an aircraft had visited the city.
The Beluga, which gets its name from an Artic-dwelling whale, caused a stir among photographers, social media users and even cargo workers at the city’s airport.
The aircraft arrived in the city from Bangkok and was specially designed to transport large-scale aeroplane’s components from Airbus’s manufacturing facilities in the United Kingdom and Germany to the company’s production headquarters in Toulouse, France.
The Airport Authority told the Post that it was the first time a Beluga had landed in Hong Kong.
The rare sight also prompted some residents to hire sampan boats to take pictures of the aircraft from the waters near the airport.
A video clip circulating online shows the moment the aircraft approaches the runway, with the sound of photographers’ camera shutters almost drowned out by the noise from the aircraft’s engines.
Some cargo workers immediately shared selfies and video clips with the Beluga after it landed at around 6.46pm on Saturday.
But the aircraft only briefly remained in Hong Kong, with Flightradar24 showing it left the city at 10.37pm that day and landed in mainland Chinese city of Qingdao at 1.57am on Sunday.
