Airport crew have a whale of a tale to tell after rare plane lands in Cape Breton

Workers at the airport in Sydney, N.S., have a whale of a tale to tell after an odd-looking airplane attracted crowds of onlookers over the weekend.

An Airbus Beluga touched down at J.A. Douglas McCurdy Sydney Airport on Sunday, after getting diverted due to weather in St. John's, where it was supposed to refuel before continuing to Florida. 

The plane got quite a greeting when it landed around 5 p.m, said Sydney Airport CEO Myles Tuttle.

"There was a traffic jam down the whole Grand Lake Road and the traffic jam kept going up to Airport Road," he said. "I was amazed at the amount of community interest.... It was pretty cool."

Tuttle said there are only a handful of the planes operating, and aviation enthusiasts around the world follow their every move.

He said Sydney airport has a runway that's 7,070 feet long and 200 feet wide with pavement rated for the weight, emergency response equipment and personnel, and everything else needed to accommodate the large cargo plane.

"I was quite proud that McCurdy Sydney Airport had all that in line to handle this aircraft and we were able to make all the necessary preparations with fairly minimal notice," the CEO said.

Tuttle said the airport's response and the plane's safe landing provided an important win after several tough years with low traffic due to the pandemic.

"For us, it was a brush-up of our skills that proved to some of the new team members that we can accommodate that kind of activity, and it just demonstrated to our community that we're capable of handling whatever challenges fall out of the sky."

Tuttle said the plane left the next morning and the airport got positive reviews from its crew.

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