Cargo carrier Antonov Airlines is one of the highest-profile airline casualties of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The airline's home base of Hostomel airport outside Kyiv was a key piece of infrastructure the Russians wanted to take early in the invasion. In the subsequent heavy fighting for control of the airport, Antonov's flagship An-225 Mriya was reportedly destroyed and much of the airline's fleet remains grounded.

Around one-third of Antonov Airlines' planes remain in the air

With its fleet of 14 jets that specialize in bulky cargo, Antonov Airlines' planes capture attention wherever and whenever they land. The majority of the fleet reportedly remains trapped at Hostomel. This article looks at where Antonov's remaining planes are this weekend.

According to FlightRadar24, Antonov's fleet now comprises seven An-124-100s, and one An-158, An-178, An-22A, An-26-100, An-128, An-132D, and An-74T each. Late last week, Antonov would not confirm the destruction of the world's largest plane, the An-225 Mriya, saying they needed to inspect the plane before they would do so.

Of the seven An-124-100s, UR-82009 and UR-82073 are both at Hostomel Airport. The remaining five are safely outside Ukraine and operational. UR-82007 operated a flight on Saturday evening local time from Constanta (CND) in Romania to Leipzig (LEJ) in Germany. Also on Saturday, UR-82008 flew from Constanta to Istres/Le Tube (QIE) in France.

Of the remaining three An-124-100s, UR-82027 also operated from Constanta to Istres/Le Tube on Saturday, UR-82029 flew from Constanta to Leipzig. UR-82072 is in the air at the time of writing. The aircraft left Gdańsk (GDN) in Poland at 21:17 local time on Saturday and looks like it is heading to northern Estonia.

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A satellite loading into the Antonov An-124-100. Photo: Antonov Airlines

Disruptions to the heavy lift industry forecasted

But those five An-124-100s are Antonov Airlines' sole operational planes. The remainder are grounded in Ukraine. That includes UR-NTN (the An-158), UR-EXP (the An-178), UR-09307 (the An-22A), UR-13396 (the An-126-100), UR-NTE (the An-28), UR-UXK (the An-132D), and UR-74010 (the An-74T). While the bulk of the grounded planes are at Hostomel, a handful a located elsewhere around Ukraine.

Ukraine is a significant operator in the global air cargo space. There are 11 cargo airlines based in the country where the airspace remains closed to non-military aircraft. While the An-225 Mriya is/was in a cargo capacity league of its own, the An-124-100s are the backbone of the fleet and provide much of the world's capacity when it comes to bulk air cargo.

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Thirty world records have been set on the AN-124-100, including an absolute payload-to-altitude record when a 171.22-ton payload was lifted to the altitude of 10,750 meters. Capacity reductions caused by those grounded An-124-100s and potentially lost An-225 threaten to disrupt the heavy lift industry.

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The giant aircraft made several trips to Shannon Airport in recent years. Photo: Getty Images

Among the An-124-100s customers are Boeing who charter the planes to fly oversized aircraft parts and engines around the world. Elon Musk's SpaceX has also chartered to fly planes to fly satellites to the US. It's a relatively niche market. However, disruptions can have ripple effects throughout the wider supply chain.

Ongoing situation

The other significant operator of Antonov 124 aircraft is Russia-based Volga-Dnepr Airlines. They have 12 of the planes. But flight bans imposed on Russian carriers by the US, EU, and most other European countries is severely hampering that airline's ability to service customers in those markets and further disrupting the heavy-lift market.