Antonov 124 Lands at Montichiari Airport Amid Development Plans

The Antonov 124, the world’s largest commercial aircraft, landed at D’Annunzio Airport in Montichiari. A year after the landing of a Boeing 747 Jumbo, the world’s largest passenger aircraft owned by the United Arab Emirates, the massive Russian aircraft occupied much of the apron in front of the Montichiari airport terminal yesterday.

Several large cranes then loaded enormous machinery for the automotive industry sent by Riello of Verona to General Motors in Toronto, Canada. The Antonov, valued at 60 billion euros, with a crew of 20 people, and a total weight of 392 tons (including 85 tons of machinery), departed yesterday evening at 9 p.m. heading to Toronto, which it will reach after approximately a 20-hour flight, including stops in Shannon, Ireland, and Gander, Canada.

Reasons for Using Montichiari Airport

Why did it use Montichiari Airport? The press conference held yesterday in the boarding hall of Brescia’s airport, led by Marco Franchini, appointed by the management company Catullo as the new general manager for the management and development of D’Annunzio, was an opportunity to explain the news and clarify future expansion plans.

“The presence of the Antonov is a clear and unequivocal signal of the development commitment our society harbors towards D’Annunzio,” explained Franchini. “The Garda Airports, consisting of Villafranca and Montichiari, are expanding rapidly.” The Antonov will return for a second load between Thursday night and Friday.

In agreement with Franchini, the other four speakers included: Uccio Albarelli, CEO of Geologistics of Verona (the freight forwarding company); Guido Valabrega, project management director of Riello (the client); Aldo Valtolina, president of Aviatrans Italia (the operator of the Antonov); and Fabio Bortolazzi, CEO of Verona Cargo Center.