Because the Belgian Air Component's two Airbus A310-222 transport aircraft suffer from frequent engine and component break-downs, the Belgian Ministry of Defence has opted to lease a single commercial Airbus A330-300 from the Portuguese airline HiFly trough French airline broker Avico on basis of a 2.000 flying hours annually use and at a fixed price of 12 million Euros per year. The 278 seat Airbus A330-300 CS-TMT (c/n 096) will be able to satisfy the Defence's need for a long range transport capacity and will allow a full contingent of troops to be transported in one flight to for example Afghanistan, while up to now several flights were needed for a similar deployment.
CS-TMT MSN 096
Photo Eddy Kellens
A330-200 CS-TFZ is the aircraft designated to replace CS-TMT when being maintained. This aircraft flew with Belgian Air Force removable decals when CS-TMT received deep maintenance early in 2010.
Follow this link to Airliners.net for a picture of this aircraft with Belgian Air Force titles.
CS-TMT MSN 096
- 161109: First noted in full Belgian Air Force colours including tail crest at Amsterdam-Schiphol.
- 191109: Official presentation and acceptance of aircraft by the Belgian Air Force
- 281209: Left main undercarriage tires got off the taxi track and sunk in muddy grass while being towed towards the main runway.
Photo Eddy Kellens
A330-200 CS-TFZ is the aircraft designated to replace CS-TMT when being maintained. This aircraft flew with Belgian Air Force removable decals when CS-TMT received deep maintenance early in 2010.
Follow this link to Airliners.net for a picture of this aircraft with Belgian Air Force titles.