Antonov Airlines plans relocation to Leipzig
According to Heavy Lift & Project Forwarding International, Antonov Airlines is planning to, temporarily, relocate its An-124 operations to Leipzig-Halle. Although its base at Kiev-Gostomel is under Ukrainian control, operations out of the airport and country are very difficult. In order to establish the base, the airline needs to relocate staff, spare parts, engines and special equipment to Leipzig which it's now planning to do.
Antonov Airlines has seven An-124s in the fleet. One of these, UR-82073 (9773054359139) is in long-term storage at Kiev-Gostomel, while UR-82009 (19530501008) has been damaged during a Russian attack on the airport and needs to be inspected and repaired before being able to return to the skies. This leaves an active fleet of five An-124s, UR-82007 (19530501005), UR-82008 (19530501006), UR-82027 (19530502288), UR-82029 (19530502630) and UR-82072 (9773053359136).
The focus of operations will be humanitarian and military flights, supporting the Ukrainian government and due to this, the five Antonovs can't be tracked via ADSB-services like FlightRadar24 for safety reasons. However, Antonov Airlines also said it would have the capacity to also carry out commercial flights if needed.
In the war and the attacks on Kiev-Gostomel, Antonov Airlines lost An-26 UR-13395 (2605), An-74 UR-74010 (36547030450) and An-225 (19530503763). It's An-22 UR-09307 (043481244) was damaged and it's unclear what the extent of the damage is and if the aircraft can be repaired.
Photo by Anton Homma.