Over the weekend, one of the world’s biggest cargo planes made a brief trip on the tarmac and a rare and imposing aircraft brought crowds of aviation enthusiasts to Auckland Airport. Saturday evening the imposing Soviet engineering marvel Antonov An124 Ruslan landed from American Samoa and was met the next day with significant media attention.
First flown in December 1982, the An124 was produced during the late 1970s by the Antonov Design Bureau in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. Originally 55 units were produced, but only about 26 are thought to still be in operation today, so viewings of the plane are quite rare and especially intriguing for airplane spotters and transportation professionals.
Distinguished by its sheer size and unique design, the An124 is still the second heaviest serially manufactured cargo plane on earth, behind only the doomed Antonov An225 Mriya. It is the heaviest among cargo aircraft actually flying. Long used for commercial and military heavy-lift missions, it has a maximum takeoff weight of 400 tonnes and a range of 3,700 kilometers.
People at Auckland Airport observed that the plane is quite distinct from ordinary commercial flights. On the ground, it appears somewhat clumsy from the high-mounted wings, compact but strong engines, and squat fuselage. Still, for observers, the elegant ascent of the aircraft into the sky provided a brief moment of wonder despite its heaviness. Its 24-wheel landing gear, simple window setup, and utilitarian style only increased its appeal.
Though the exact reason for the plane’s Auckland trip is not confirmed, the Antonov is known to carry extremely specialized cargo. Delivered America’s Cup yachts on earlier New Zealand trips. The airplane has supposedly been used to ferry extensive concert equipment, including the complete staging gear for shows by worldwide music stars.
Though information on its present cargo was not revealed, the plane was in Auckland after its most recent stop in Melbourne. Experts in aviation theory believe that the infrequent sightings of the plane in this area might be related to special logistics deals or time-sensitive transport missions not readily taken care of by other freighters.
Part of the reason for the discontinuation of An124 production in 2014 is changing requirements in the worldwide aviation sector as well as changing economic policies. More fuel-efficient, smaller aircraft designs have slowly replaced larger, more fuel-dependent ones, therefore making these big freighters less practical for everyday use. Still, maintaining its relevance for specific missions, most contemporary cargo planes cannot match the An124’s capability to transport large or heavy cargo.
The event reminded people of the engineering vision that defined aerospace advances in the Cold War era as cameras in hand and crowds converged at the public viewing sites of the airport. For those lucky enough to see it, the An124’s quick visit gave not just a show but a view of a previous era of aviation history—still cruising, still mighty, and still able to captivate the terrestrial imagination.
