In one of the stranger side-effects of the Icelandic volcano’s eruption, the world’s largest freighter – the Antonov An-225 – has performed its first charter from China, carrying a full load of general cargo. The aircraft – owned by Antonov Airlines and normally associated only with the very largest and heaviest outsize loads – transported the cargo from Shijiazhuang Airport (SJW) near Beijing to Vitoria (VIT), Spain on behalf of a major, but unspecified freight forwarder. The unusual operation was necessitated by the serious air cargo backlogs that have built up in China due to the closure of European airspace for several days following the volcanic eruption.

Antonov Airlines’ commercial director Valery Kulbaka explains: “The An-225 is not usually used for general cargo, but its proximity at the time of the charter, and the magnitude of the overall backlog problem, enabled us to provide a viable solution for the client on this occasion.”

“The An-225 is normally accepted by a number of airports in Spain. The aircraft’s routeing into Vitoria, its first time there, was a result of continuing pressure on slots at other Spanish airports, as scheduled carriers increase their operations in their efforts to return to normal.”

The sole An-225 — originally designed by Antonov Design Bureau for the Soviet space programme to airlift the Energia rocket’s boosters and the Buran space shuttle — is now operated by Antonov Airlines, and is commercially available for carrying ultra-heavy and oversize freight, up to 250 tonnes. It can accommodate single pieces up to 210,000 kg.

The An-225 has established a reputation for transporting objects once thought impossible to move by air, such as locomotives and 150-tonne generators, and has taken part in numerous humanitarian relief programmes.

On 11 August 2009, the heaviest single cargo item ever sent via air freight was loaded onto the Antonov An-225. At 16.23 metres long and 4.27 metres wide, the consignment – a generator for a gas power plant in Armenia and its loading frame – weighed in at a record 189,009 kg.