World’s Largest Aircraft Lands In Accra, Ghana

The world’s largest aircraft, Antonov An-225 Mriya, has landed at the Kotoka International Airport. The plane which was heading to Namibia to deliver COVID-19 supplies made a stop at KIA on Wednesday, July 7, 2021, to refuel before completing its journey.

The aircraft landed successfully in Ghana at around 4:00pm from Leipzig in Germany.

Namibian authorities confirmed the arrival of the aircraft and added that it carried medical equipment to help the country fight the rise of the number of coronavirus infections.

The world's largest aircraft, the Antonov-225, with a consignment of medical equipments and materials landed at the Hosea Kutako International Airport this afternoon.

The consignment will be used to contain the spread of COVID-19. pic.twitter.com/h5ymTEf1D4

— Namibia Airports Company (@AirportsNam) July 8, 2021

“The world’s largest aircraft, the Antonov-225, with a consignment of medical equipment and materials landed at the Hosea Kutako International Airport this afternoon.

“The consignment will be used to contain the spread of COVID-19,” Namibia’s Airports Company posted on Twitter on July 8. The post was accompanied with photos of the plane offloading its cargo.

The world’s largest aircraft, the Antonov-225, with a consignment of medical equipment and materials landed at the Hosea Kutako International Airport this afternoon.

Until hitting the skies to deliver coronavirus supplies, the world’s longest and heaviest operational aircraft, the Antonov An-225, was on a hiatus for about 10 months after its operations were paused in August 2020.

Quick Facts About Antonov An-225 Mriya

Type of Aircraft	Strategic Airlifter
Weight	285,000 kg
Wingspan	88.4 m
Length	84 m
Top Speed	850 km/h
Fuel Capacity	300,000kg
Cargo Capacity	250 tonnes

 

Antonov Airlines, the operator of Antonov An-225 Mriya, has operated several relief flights for transportation of coronavirus pandemic-related humanitarian and medical goods to places in need. In April 2020, the An-225 flew 100 cubic meters of medical supplies from China to Poland. This is reported to be the largest volume of cargo ever carried by plane, Simple Flying reported. The airline broke its record a week later after transporting even more supplies from China to France. It reportedly took more than 10 hours for the airport workers to unload all the cargo after the flight landed.

With a wingspan of 88.4 meters, a height of 18.2 meters, and a take-off weight of 1,410,958 pounds, the jet was designed and built in the 1980s in the Soviet Union.