Reference

Antonov An-225 Mriya

The largest aircraft ever built. Payload, cargo hold, door size and typical role below.

Antonov An-225 Mriya cargo aircraft
Photo: Dylan Agbagni (CC0) · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Destroyed at Hostomel airport in February 2022 during the invasion of Ukraine. A second airframe was begun but never completed.

Maximum payload
250,000 kg
Cargo volume
1,100 m³
Cargo hold (L × W × H)
43.35 × 6.40 × 4.40 m
Cargo door
6.40 × 4.40 m

About the Antonov An-225 Mriya

The largest aircraft ever flown, built to carry the Soviet Buran space shuttle and later the only aircraft in the world able to lift a payload of 250 tonnes. Its heaviest single item was a 187.6-tonne generator flown in 2009.

For three decades it was the aircraft of last resort for cargo nothing else could lift: power station components, locomotives, other aircraft. Only one was ever completed, and its loss removed a unique capability from the market that has not been replaced.

What it carries

  • Power generation components
  • Locomotives
  • Outsize industrial modules
  • Other aircraft
All cargo aircraft

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