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Antonov in Kosovo, what is known about the flight of the large transport aircraft
2026-05-07 19:03:21 / KOSOVA
The arrival of an Antonov An-124 aircraft at Pristina International Airport "Adem Jashari" on May 6 sparked the curiosity of many in Kosovo.
But the reason for the flight to Kosovo of one of the largest aircraft in the world for transporting goods, including military ones, still remains unknown.
Radio Free Europe (RFE/RL) requested information from Pristina Airport on Thursday regarding the arrival of the large Ukrainian-made aircraft, but did not receive a response.
The flight of the aircraft with registration UR-82008 did not even appear in online commercial flight logs.
The Ministry of Defense in Kosovo has said that there is no official information regarding this flight.
Renowned Kosovar photographer, Arian Mavriqi, photographed and filmed yesterday's landing of the giant plane, which has been seen in Kosovo in the past.
Aviation enthusiasts, both local and foreign, have also published photos and videos of the Antonov An-124 landing at the airport located 17 kilometers from the Kosovo capital, suggesting that the plane took off from an air base in Germany.
According to them, he may have brought military equipment for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) peacekeeping mission in Kosovo - KFOR.
However, this NATO mission did not respond to REL's questions regarding this issue.
Meanwhile, the German Ministry of Defense told REL that, "as a matter of principle and regardless of the specific question, it does not comment on military transports," and that its response constitutes neither confirmation nor denial regarding this flight.
She, however, said that the German armed forces use the Antonov company's transport service.
“…The capacities of Antonov Logistics SALIS GmbH [are used] for the delivery and supply of German forces in the context of national and alliance defense, international crisis management and national risk and crisis management,” a spokesperson for the German Defense Ministry told REL.
What are Antonov planes used for?
According to official data, published by the airline itself, Antonov Airlines is a subsidiary of the Antonov Company, headquartered in Kiev, Ukraine.
The Ukrainian state-owned company operates an extensive fleet of cargo aircraft, including five An-124 Ruslan aircraft, which can carry loads of up to 150 tons.
Two of these aircraft are officially used through the company Antonov Logistic SALIS GmbH, to provide transportation services to NATO and European Union countries for the delivery of "emergency goods in crisis situations."
According to information on the company's website, the services responsible for planning transport and aircraft maintenance have been temporarily relocated to Leipzig, Germany, due to the war in Ukraine.
Previous flights to Kosovo
The Antonov company's plane did not arrive in Kosovo for the first time on Wednesday.
Pristina Airport itself had published photographs of this plane when it arrived in Kosovo in 2016.
Meanwhile, the BBKRspotters group, which publishes footage of flights at Pristina Airport, had published a video of this plane landing at "Adem Jashari" in January 2024.
Radio Free Europe has requested information from the Antonov airline itself about yesterday's flight, but has not received a response by the time of publication of this text. /REL
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