Volga-Dnepr grounds its An-124 fleet

Following a runway excursion at Novosibirsk on 13 November by An-124 RA-82042, Volga-Dnepr has announced it has pro-actively decided to ground its total fleet of eleven remaining An-124s.

The airline has taken this decision as it wants to demonstrate clearly that they are a "safety first"-airline. Volga-Dnepr hasn't received any directions from the civil aviation authorities and wants to make sure the type is really safe before continuing operations with it.

Volga-Dnepr's eleven-strong An-124 fleet is on average 26 years old and offer a unique cargo carrying capability. Some of it can be fulfilled by the B747s in the Group, but there will be for sure revenue last due to this decision.

Photo by T. Laurent, kindly provided by AirHistory.net