Antonov Airlines' An-124 Ruslan relocates from Kyiv to Leipzig for certification trials
On Friday, July 11, an Antonov Airlines An-124-100 Ruslan aircraft, tail number UR-82073, completed a flight from Kyiv to Leipzig, where the company's fleet is currently based.
"The An-124-100 UR-82073 is now in Leipzig. While it still faces a long road of certification testing, there is hope that we will see it flying over Ukraine again—with new engines, new avionics, and expanded operational capabilities!" wrote Fedir Hryschuk, flightworthiness inspector at the State Aviation Administration, in a Facebook post.
As reported earlier, Ukraine's airspace has been closed to civilian aircraft since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022. Since then, only a handful of civilian aircraft stranded in Ukrainian airports have been able to leave, departing from Boryspil and Lviv airports.
Antonov Airlines was founded in 1989. According to its website, the fleet includes one An-225 Mriya, seven An-124-100 Ruslan aircraft, one An-22 Antei, one An-26, and one An-74T. According to Ukroboronprom, Russia's initial invasion inflicted devastating damage: the Hostomel base (Antonov State Enterprise) was destroyed, the Sviatoshyn base was damaged, and the An-26, An-74, and world's only An-225 Mriya were destroyed. One more An-124 sustained damage, while five others were successfully relocated outside Ukraine.
