On 14 April, Warsaw Chopin Airport welcomed the only Antonov An-225 “Mriya” as operation “Cargo dla Polski” (Cargo for Poland) begins.
A premiere for 15 years on Polish soil. The world’s only Antonov An-225, registered UR-82060, has landed this morning at Warsaw Chopin Airport, after a low pass above the airport.
The last time the aircraft came to Poland was in 2005 in Katowice-Pyrzowice, carrying five helicopters from Chisinau, Moldova to Algeria and 2 years before, Poznań–Ławica Airport also welcomed the aircraft carrying 128 tonnes of cargo.
The aircraft, chartered by KGHM and Lotos, came from Tianjin, China, via Almaty, Kazakhstan. It transported 76 tonnes of medical suits, 11 tonnes of face shields and 9 tonnes of masks.
“Here in the Ministry and together with the Material Reserves Agency, the distribution between specific hospitals is made. Until recently, we distributed this equipment among voivodships, and there was direct transport from voivodships to hospitals. Now these transports go directly to the hospitals, here they are distributed according to the medical institution, according to the needs”, said Wojciech Andrusiewicz, spokesman for the Polish Ministry of Health.
Mateusz Morawiecki, Polish Prime Minister said: “We are dealing with a situation of large shortages of equipment around the world. Several countries have applied for such transport. The fact that the plane could fly to Poland, the largest transport plane in the world, was also preceded by long hours of negotiations, and earlier long days of talks.”
This special flight is part of “Cargo dla Polski”, an operation to bring medical resources to Poland, a mission which follows “LOT do domu”, bringing home Polish people stranded abroad, which ended recently.
It's here! An #AN225 carrying medical supplies ordered by @kghm_sa and @GrupaLOTOS from 🇨🇳 has landed in #Warsaw.
More than 1 mn FFP2 masks and a couple hundred thousand protective suits and face shields will go to 🇵🇱 hospitals and the Material Reserves Agency.#CargoForPoland pic.twitter.com/pagmHtyWeM
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs 🇵🇱 (@PolandMFA) April 14, 2020
Trwa obsługa #An225 #Mrija, który przyleciał dziś na @ChopinAirport z materiałami do walki z wirusem zakupionymi przez @kghm_sa i @GrupaLOTOS w ramach akcji #CargoDlaPolski.
W związku z zagrożeniem epidemicznym nie podajemy godziny ani kierunku odlotu samolotu. Przykro nam. pic.twitter.com/sTT7UPTYgh
— Chopin Airport, WAW (@ChopinAirport) April 14, 2020
Ан-225 перевіз рекордний вантаж медичних засобів, долучившись до боротьби з #COVID19
14.04.2020р. літак #Ан225 перевіз до Варшави з Китаю рекордний за об’ємом вантаж медичних засобів у рамках боротьби зі світовою пандемією коронавірусу COVID-19
Більше – https://t.co/kqwYXCJBjS pic.twitter.com/G02zVUsUS4— Antonov Company 🇺🇦 (@AntonovCompany) April 14, 2020
Watch again the landing :
