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Belfast Live
Belfast Live
National
Connor Lynch

Antonov 124: One of the largest cargo planes in the world has landed at Belfast International Airport

One of the largest planes in the world has landed at Belfast International Airport.

The Antonov 124 is the largest operational cargo plane in the world and is currently at the airport for a heavy cargo operation before leaving later on Monday.

The plane was originally designed and created by the Soviet Union in the 1980s, and there are 26 of them working today.

Read more: Flybe announce new route to Isle of Man from Belfast City Airport

The aircraft set the world record for the largest tonnage transported by a plane in 1993, when a 135 tonne Siemens electric generator was taken from Germany to India.

The Antonov 124 has been used to carry everything from trains and yachts to aircraft fuselages.

The Antonov company has renamed a number of its aircraft in solidarity with the people of Ukraine. The one at Belfast International Airport is called Bucha, after the Ukrainian town.

Belfast International Airport has confirmed that the huge plane is currently at the airport for a heavy cargo operation and will depart again later today.

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