VIVAERO

Antonov An-124 performs special transport between the USA and Australia

Antonov Airlines, which currently operates from Germany, transported large industrial equipment between the United States and Australia. The total load weighed 67 tons, 35.5 tons of which was just the special compressor.

Although it is not a non-standard load in terms of mass, its total length of 11.33 meters, with a height of 3.63 meters, made transport more complex, thus requiring the use of dedicated cargo planes. The choice to use the Antonov An-124-100 was due to the logistics and ease of operation of loading and unloading the Ukrainian giant.

To load and unload the compressor, a special ramp system for high loads designed by Antonov engineers was used, which reduces the inclination of the access ramp to the aircraft by a few degrees, allowing the handling of large volumes with greater safety. The winch on board was also used, which acted in support of external cranes for loads of up to 100 tons.

Transport was coordinated with Air Charter Service, which worked from boarding in San Bernardino, California, to landing, four days later, in Winchelsa, Victoria, Australia.

Although several commercial planes can fly nonstop between the United States and Australia, the high weight on board considerably reduces the range of the An-124-100, which with a maximum load of around 115,000 kilograms has a range of only 2,700 kilometers, while with less than 20,000 kilos it can fly for up to 10,000 kilometers. In the case of transporting the compressor, also considering the wind currents in the region flown over, the average range was 5,000 kilometers, thus requiring the planning of several technical stops.

“One of the airports on the route was extremely crowded to provide us with a technical stop, so we had to urgently find another one. Taking into account the strict deadline for arrival at the destination, both teams showed flexibility and quickly arranged the alternative route”, added Olha Danylova, commercial executive at Antonov Airlines. “Thanks to the well-coordinated work, we completed the project on time.”

After suffering a severe blow to its operations with the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, which included the destruction of the only An-225, and damage to part of the fleet, such as an An-22 and an An-124-100, Antonov Airlines moved its operations to Germany and was even recognized as the Cargo Charter Airline of the Year.