The largest airplane ever built took off from Toronto’s Pearson International Airport Wednesday.
The Antonov-225 arrived in Toronto Monday morning, flying in from Labrador.
The gargantuan airliner is 84 metres long and can carry a maximum load of 640 tonnes. With a wingspan of 88 metres, it is 29 metres wider than a football field.
To put that size in perspective, the Boeing 737 Next Generation measures somewhere between 31 to 42 metres in length and has a load capacity of 65,000 to 85,100 kilograms.
Originally developed in the 1980s to transport the Buran, a Soviet space shuttle, it was refurbished and is now used by Antonov Airlines, a Ukrainian cargo airline, to transport oversized commercial cargo.
The plane’s trip began in the United Kingdom, and will wrap up in Leipzig/Halle, Germany. You can track the flight here.
