The flight crew with Captain Serhii Tarasiuk (fourth from the left) on his last flight for Antonov Airlines before retirement.

The spare part was transported on an AN-124-100 by Captain Serhii Tarasiuk on his last flight before retirement from the Ukrainian carrier

Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday 17th November 2021: The world leader in air heavylift of oversized cargo, Antonov Airlines, has safely transported a 40-metric-tonne cargo, including control and battery rooms for power supply, for BOLLORE Transport Logistics.

The control unit measuring 13 m long, 3.96 m wide, and 3.93 m high was transported by the Ukraine-headquartered carrier from Stockholm, Sweden, to Lomé, Togo.

The cargo was urgently required to ensure there was no interruption to energy supply at an oil-producing plant.

"Antonov used a ramp system designed by our in-house engineering team in combination with an internal crane and onboard winches to safely load and unload the cargo," said Olha Danylova, Commercial Executive, Antonov Airlines.

"The cargo was perfectly suited to travel on one of our AN-124-100 aircraft, which has a 120-metric-tonne capacity and is well equipped to move outsized cargo."

Andriy Blagovisniy, Commercial Director, Antonov Airlines, added: "This flight is memorable as Captain Serhii Tarasiuk led the team on his final mission for the carrier before retirement.

"Serhii celebrated his 65th birthday and marked his retirement with a successful flight conducted safely and on time, as always.

"We thank Captain Serhii Tarasiuk for his 42 years of loyal service to ANTONOV Company and wish him well for his retirement."

Antonov Airlines has a fleet of seven AN-124-100 "Ruslan" aircraft, two of them with a payload of up to 150 tonnes.

The external ramp system was designed in house by Antonov Airlines engineers and an external crane was used to assist loading and unloading the 40-tonne cargo.

The rear of the AN-124-100 can also be used for loading and unloading with assistance from an onboard crane and a series of winches.

Source Meantime Communications