September 30 - Russia's Volga-Dnepr Airlines has completed one of its biggest-ever air logistics projects, having delivered more than 6,000 tonnes of cargo on 88 flights to supply an ExxonMobil PNG-LNG project in Papua New Guinea.
Volga-Dnepr's AN-124-100 aircraft operated all of the flights from Port Moresby Airport to the specially constructed PNG-LNG project's Komo Airfield.
Each component averaged 60 tonnes in weight, including several unique and over-dimensional loads that required bespoke handling systems. Volga-Dnepr's engineers developed a special platform in order to load the cargoes into the hold of the AN-124-100.
A special trailer was leased to simplify the loading and offloading of cargoes, minimising the need to use cranes, in turn decreasing delays over the length of the project.
Volga-Dnepr also took extra measures to minimise the empty weight of the aircraft, packaging and tooling equipment to maximise the amount of cargo transported per-flight.
Volga-Dnepr also established an appropriate service station at Port Moresby to ensure the AN-124-100 freighter was suitably maintained over the 103-day project.
"This project was complex and an interesting logistics challenge. Papua New Guinea is a country that has challenging climatic conditions, including highlands with frequent fog. We are proud to have successfully and safely completed this project by overcoming all of these difficulties and by once again demonstrating our expertise in the safe delivery of unique and outsize cargo," said Dennis Gliznoutsa, vice president, development, Volga-Dnepr Airlines. "For us it was not only a commercial project but the opportunity to test ourselves again. Participation in this project has also helped us to strengthen our cooperation with regular customers and to acquire potential partners."
 |
| Dennis Gliznoutsa |
