Antonov Airlines is a Ukrainian cargo airline, a division of the Antonov aviation company. It operates international charter services in the oversized-cargo market. Its main base is Hostomel Airport near Kyiv. In the aftermath of the Battle of Hostomel Airport, Antonov relocated its remaining aircraft to Leipzig/Halle Airport.

History

Early years

The airline was established and started operations in 1989 through a marketing agent agreement with Air Foyle to market Antonov An-124 Ruslan cargo charters worldwide. This relationship ended in June 2006. The same month Antonov Airlines and another large player in the global specialty air cargo business, Volga-Dnepr Airlines (Russia), established a joint venture company – Rusland International — where each company has a 50% stake. The joint operation of the Ukrainian and Russian fleets allows them to share the combined An-124-100 commercial fleet of seventeen aircraft (twelve of which belong to Antonov Airlines). In 2017 Antonov Airlines opened a United Kingdom office at London Stansted Airport, with a first flight in February by an Antonov An-124 Ruslan.

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

At the outbreak of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the An-225 Mriya was at its home base of Antonov Airport in Hostomel undergoing an engine swap. During the Battle of Antonov Airport the site was captured by the Russians, and the An-225 was destroyed. UkrOboronProm said that: "The restoration is estimated to take over 3 billion USD and over five years. Our task is to ensure that these costs are covered by the Russian Federation, which has caused intentional damage to Ukraine's aviation and the air cargo sector." Other Antonov Airlines aircraft were diverted to Leipzig/Halle Airport upon completion of commercial missions, from where the airline continued operations with five An-124 aircraft.

Notable operations

Fleet

Current fleet

The Antonov Airlines fleet comprises the following aircraft :

• Cannot give the exact size of fleet until condition of all the aircraft is confirmed.

Former fleet

The following Antonov Airlines aircraft were destroyed in 2022 during the Battle of Hostomel Airport: The airline's fleet previously included the following aircraft : Antonov Airlines also operated the following aircraft for the Antonov Design Bureau: