On April 3, 2018, The Antonov AN-225 Mriya, known as the “biggest airplane in the world”, took off from Gostomel airport (GML) in Kiev for its first commercial flight since its recent modernization. It landed two hours later in Leipzig airport (LEJ) without any trouble.

From there, the Ukrainian cargo plane should start several transportation missions from Germany towards Asian countries with heavy payloads.

The plane was developed at the end of the 1980s for the Soviet space program and flew for the first time in 1988. With its six engines and 42 tires, it can transport up to 640 tons. Since its creation, it is the biggest and most powerful aircraft ever created.

After the fall of the USSR, the AN-225 was set aside for a while, but Antonov revived it in 2001 to make very specific deliveries such as relief efforts after natural disasters.

The Mriya was recently modernized to integrate a new navigation system as well as new electronics. It already made a successful test flight over Kiev on March 19, 2018.