Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) has achieved yet another milestone in its young cargo history with the arrival of the world’s one of the largest cargo aircraft, Antonov An-124 “Ruslan”.
A Code F wide-body freighter, arriving from Abu Dhabi with around 46 tons of cargo, landed at approximately 12:13 pm on 2 September 2026. The aircraft was flown by Maximus Air, an all-cargo airline based in the UAE and headquartered at Abu Dhabi Airport, specialized in the transport of outsized air freight.
The Maximus Air fleet comprises an Antonov AN-124-100 and two Ilyushin IL-76TD aircraft, enabling the carrier to handle cargo that requires significantly more space and lifting capacity than conventional freighters can offer.
Maximus Air’s An-124-100 has a maximum payload capacity of 120 tons and a cargo hold with a capacity of around 850 cubic meters. The hold is 36.5 meters long, 6.4 meters wide and 4.4 meters high. The maximum take-off weight of the aircraft is 392 tons.
The aircraft also has onboard cranes for independent loading and unloading of cargo, which is especially useful when the aircraft operates from remote locations or airports with limited cargo handling infrastructure.
The An-124 also features a distinctive front-loading configuration, which makes it particularly suitable for oversized freight. Its whole nose section hinges open to allow very large consignments – including industrial machinery, turbines and aircraft components to be driven or winched directly into the cargo hold.
The An-124, designed by the Antonov Design Bureau, first flew in 1982 and has become one of the most recognizable heavy-lift cargo aircraft in the world.
Another milestone in NMIA’s rapid cargo development
The arrival of Maximus Air’s An-124 adds to a series of cargo milestones recorded at Navi Mumbai International Airport since the airport began commercial operations on 25 December 2025.
On 1 August, IndiGo Cargo operated NMIA’s first dedicated freighter service, flying to Sharjah. The airport then reached another milestone on 16 August when Hong Kong Air Cargo became the first international carrier to launch dedicated freighter operations at NMIA, operating its inaugural service on that date.
Chennai-based Afcom Cargo also moved its freighter operations from Mumbai to Navi Mumbai from 16 August, introducing three weekly Boeing 737 freighter services to Dubai World Central.
The airport subsequently welcomed an even larger freighter on 24 August, when National Airlines’ Boeing 747-400F became the largest aircraft to land at NMIA at that point. The aircraft arrived from Frankfurt-Hahn.
The arrival of Maximus Air’s Antonov An-124 now represents another step in Navi Mumbai International Airport’s emerging role in handling specialised and outsized cargo, while highlighting the airport’s expanding capabilities only months after the start of its commercial operations.
