Antonov Airlines in cooperation with Air Partner provided an urgent AOG cargo charter solution to move an oversized aircraft engine and critical tooling from Luxembourg to Lajes, Portugal, a remote island in the Azores, on board one of AN-124-100M aircraft.
The cargo weighted about 75 tonnes including an aero engine was onloaded and offloaded on board of AN-124-100 using OPTG-120M loading equipment in conjunction with external crane. A 48-ton mobile crane along with a driver and rigger was sourced by Air Partner team and also was loaded on the AN-124-100 due to unconfirmed availability of suitable mobile lifting equipment on the island.
Following the successful operation, the AN-124-100 was flown to Stansted airport with the unserviceable engine, empty stand and mobile crane onboard. The mobile crane was repositioned back to the base in the Europe, and the unserviceable engine and tooling trucked to Amsterdam for onward scheduled flights.
“It was a very interesting and unusual project. Challenges we met during this transportation kept all the teams on a little stress. Thanks to Air Partner`s and ANTONOV`s highly professional specialists we successfully delivered the sensitive cargo to the destination,” said Serhii Bilozerov, Commercial Executive, Antonov Airlines.
“Air Partner can access any size cargo aircraft to solve any size logistical issue. The Antonov AN-124-100 aircraft was ideal for this charter flight and the service provided by the Antonov airlines staff and crew was world class. We are proud to have worked with such great partners and delivered such a great product for our client with this project flight,” said Jack Burt, Vice President of Freight US, Air Partner.
