A Russian-owned Antonov An-124 has been racking up parking fees of over $1,000 a day at Toronto Pearson Airport. The cargo plane, operated by Volga-Dnepr, has been stuck in Canada since February 27th after Canadian airspace was closed to Russian aircraft.

Over $100,000 in parking fees

A Volga-Dnepr An-124 has now accumulated over $100,000 in parking fees after being impounded at Toronto Pearson Airport.

The aircraft has been unable to take off since February 27th after Canada's Transport Minister, Omar Alghabra, announced the closure of Canadian airspace to all Russian aircraft.

Standard aircraft parking rates at Toronto Pearson Airport amount to $1,065.60 per 24 hours, which works out at $0.74 per minute. The cargo aircraft has been stranded since February 27th, leaving it at 96 days on the ground and counting.

Disinfection of Antonov An-124 Ruslan heavy transport aircraft at Domodedovo International Airport
The 26-year-old An-124 is reportedly being stored in a "secure location" at Toronto Pearson Airport. Photo: Getty Images

As of today, the Antonov An-124's parking fee stands at $102,298 and there is no clear indication of when it may be allowed to leave. Authorities in Canada have insisted that the airspace ban will remain for the foreseeable future.

Transport Canada spokesman Hicham Ayoun said,

"The aircraft is unable to depart in Canadian territorial airspace as it would be in violation of the NOTAM. The latter remains in place, and there are no plans to make revisions or change it at this time."

Ayoun added that the An-124 is the only plane currently affected by the federal ban on Russian aircraft. Canada's comprehensive ban applies to Russian-owned or registered aircraft, as well as planes “chartered, leased, operated or otherwise controlled” by a person connected with the Russian Federation or a Russian corporation or entity.

The An-124 was delivering COVID tests

The Antonov An-124 was delivering rapid COVID tests on its last cargo assignment. The plane arrived in Toronto on February 27th from China, via Anchorage and Russia, and was scheduled to leave soon after.

However, during that brief period, Canada announced it had shut its airspace to all Russian aircraft, leaving the An-124 stranded at the airport.

Back in March, Simple Flying reported on the Russian Volga-Dnepr Antonov An-124 impounded in Canada. Volga-Dnepr said at the time that it was working on a solution to get the aircraft back, but this has clearly not materialized.

A Toronto Pearson Airport spokesperson has confirmed that the aircraft is being stored in a "secure location" and did not comment on whether any parking fees have been paid thus far.

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Volga-Dnepr RA-82078

The aircraft in question is a 26-year-old Volga-Dnepr Antonov An-124 (registration: RA-82078). The plane was delivered to the Russian cargo carrier in 1996 and is one of 12 An-124s in the Volga-Dnepr fleet.

An-124 Volga-Dnepr
Volga-Dnepr has 11 other Antonov An-124s in its fleet. Photo: Getty Images

Data from FlightRadar24.com shows that RA-82078 had only re-entered service for less than a week before it was caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. The cargo giant spent around five months out of action before returning to operations on February 21st.

Have you spotted this Antonov An-124 at Toronto Pearson Airport recently? Let us know in the comments.