Ruslan International – the company which manages 17 giant AN-124 freighter aircraft for its partners Antonov Airlines and Volga Dnepr Group – has moved 75 tonnes of urgent oil and gas industry coil-tubing equipment from London Stansted to Adelaide, to support a drilling programme in the Coober Pedy Basin of South Australia. The equipment was needed urgently in order to commence drilling on schedule, and the timetable did not allow the time required for transportation by ocean. In addition, the largest item in the consignment – a reel weighing 38 tonnes and measuring 3.95 metre high – was too large to fit into any other aircraft type. This meant the only viable solution was to utilise an AN-124. The 17,000 km flight was completed in 58 hours, and involved stops in Baku, Karachi, Kuala Lumpur and Darwin. Loading and unloading were relatively straightforward operations, using the aircraft’s  unique portable ramp system, and external cranes. All operations at origin and destination were overseen by specialist staff of charterer Airland Logistics, which has offices in Europe and Australia, as well as South Africa and Canada. Says Airland Logistics’  Perth-based Group Director Tony Berson “The AN-124 provided the ideal solution to meet the consignee’s time-critical production schedule, and everything went very smoothly thanks to Ruslan International and the aircraft flight crews.”