Antonov’s An-225 (Mriya) freighter has landed for the first time in Australia when it touched down in Perth with a 117 ton generator on board.
The charter of the world’s largest capacity freighter aircraft was organised by DB Schenker, and the special event saw thousands of onlookers gathered near the western Australian airport to witness the arrival of the Mriya on Sunday morning.
"The excitement was great, there were high expectations", said Ron Koehler, chief executive of Schenker Australia.
He added: "To organise air freight in an Antonov 225 is an absolute highlight. The cooperation between our experts in Adelaide and Perth with Czech colleagues went smoothly. We are really proud of this order of our clients here in Australia. "
Karpeles Flight Services, a charter specialist of DB Logistics subsidiary DB Schenker, was responsible for organising the trip.
The transport of the generator started on May 10 in the city of Pilsen (Czech Republic), from where it was brought overnight by a special multiple-axles truck to Prague.
At the airport of the Czech capital the generator was loaded into the An-225 (84 m long, 18 m high). The generator was covered with a special canvas welded on at more than 30 fixture points in the Antonov. Departure took place on Thursday.
Stopovers on the almost 14.000 km long trip were scheduled in Turkmenbashi (Turkmenistan), Hyderabad (India) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)).
DB Schenker also arranged for the land transport to the Australian client, an alumina refinery in Collie, a four hour drive from Perth.
The Antonov 225 Mryia won’t stay long in Australia: On May 17, it takes off to Italy with a 25 tons rotor on board.
A video of the cargo being loaded onto the aircraft in the Czech Republic can be seen below.
