Antonov AN 124 landed at Sarajevo International Airport

One of the biggest transport aircraft in the world, Antonov AN-124, landed today afternoon at Sarajevo International Airport to deliver vehicles and cargo for the United Kingdom troops participating in the EUFOR exercise „Quick Response 2013.“
The exercise “Quick Response 2013” to be held from 15 till 28 April 2013 will demonstrate EUFOR ability to successfully call into action, quickly deploy and integrate the contingency troops being stationed out of Bosnia and Herzegovina which are in a state of alert.
The aircraft Antonov AN-124, entrusted with a task of transporting the equipment which is necessary for the exercise “Quick Response 2013”, is mainly used for strategic transport of heavy planes and often carries heavy cargo that cannot be transported by other types of aircraft.
Up to the latest generation AN-225, this used to be the biggest cargo plane in the world, capable of transporting up to 80 t of freight in one operation, whose maximum take-off weight (M.T.O.W.) is 392 tons.
Professional staff of Sarajevo International Airport made all necessary preparations for ground handling of such an aircraft, including the following: additional engagement on developing, levelling and cleaning of the runway; extra check of the maneuvering surfaces aimed at prevention of potential damage that waste could cause on the aircraft; preliminary activities taken in order to organize this flight when there are no scheduled operations; and, finally, all the equipment made ready for the ground handling of such a huge aircraft .