World's largest cargo aircraft lands at Hyderabad airport

Hyderabad: The world's largest cargo aircraft AN-225 Myria landed at Hyderabad airport for a stopover on way to Perth in Australia from Turkmenistan in Central Asia.

The aircraft of Antonov Airlines of Ukraine touched down at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here late Thursday night for a 24-hour halt.

Airport operator GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd. (GHIAL) said in a statement that the aircraft will proceed to Jakarta in Indonesia and from there to Perth.

The big bird has been parked at the airport's Code-F (Airbus A380 Compatible) cargo apron.

The flying behemoth, which holds almost 240 world records, is powered by six supercharged turbo-fan engines, operated by a six-man crew, and lifts a mammoth 640 tonnes of MTOW (Maximum Take Off Weight).

The aircraft is 84 metres long, 18.1 metres high, has a wingspan of 88.4 metres and a fuel capacity of 300,000 kg. Its maximum speed is 850 km per hour with a 15,400 km range and 11,000 metres cruising altitude.

The Hyderabad airport was chosen for the halt based on several factors, such as runway length, ground manoeuvering area, technical facilities, air traffic density and proximity to the trans-continental air route.

Only a few airports in the world can handle the aircraft's landing and take-off since its wing span is wider than even the world's largest passenger carrier, the Airbus A380 double-decker aircraft.

"The landing of AN-225 Myria is a testimony to our robust infrastructure, technical expertise and operational efficiency," said S.G.K. Kishore, CEO, GHIAL.