Unusual whale-like Airbus BelugaXL plane makes rare stop at Heathrow Airport

An Airbus BelugaXL touched down at Heathrow Airport on Monday, giving London plane-spotters the rare chance to see the whale-like aircraft.

The unusually shaped carrier, which resembles a beluga whale, delivers spare parts to fix Airbus carriers. It touched down at 11am after flying from Toulouse in France.

It was a welcome sight for British Airways, which required parts to fix a plane that had been grounded since a collision in April.

The sighting caused amusement on X, with some users saying it looked like a whale and others thinking it paid a closer resemblance to an ex-footballer.

“For a second I thought it was Vincent Kompany,” said one.

“Is that the former Burnley manager?” added another.

Back in April, a Virgin Boeing 787-9 plane had completed a flight and had no passengers on board while it was being towed to a different part of the airfield when it collided with the stationary British Airways plane.

The BA aircraft is being assessed by engineering teams, the company said, adding it has provided an alternative aircraft to “limit the impact on our customers”.

A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said at the time: “We are aware that the wingtip of one of our empty aircraft came into contact with another aircraft whilst being towed from the stand at London Heathrow Terminal 3.

“The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority.”

A spokesperson for British Airways said: “One of our aircraft, whilst stationary at Heathrow, was involved in a collision with another airline’s jet, which was being towed from a stand at the time.

“Our aircraft is being assessed by our engineering teams and we have provided an alternative aircraft to limit the impact on our customers.”