Volga-Dnepr’s An-124 Delivers Four Water-Bombers to Greece to Support Seasonal Wildfire-Fighting Efforts

Volga-Dnepr Airlines, part of Volga-Dnepr Group and an acknowledged leader in outsized and super heavy transportations, has masterminded urgent delivery of four Bell 214B with tanks and other associated equipment from Australia to Greece.

The complex delivery was organized in partnership with Chapman Freeborn Australia and McDermott Aviation – Heli-Lift within the toughest timeframes - only two days after confirmation An-124-100 was positioned to Australia to commence its journey to Athens (Greece) with double pick-up at Wellcamp and Perth (Australia). The cargo, weighing over 30 tons, has been split between two locations, with two helicopters and equipment to be uplifted in each airport.

It is expected that four water-bombers will ramp up Greek efforts to battle wildfires which have significantly spread over the last weeks. 48 hours after landing and reassembly in Athens they joined the fleet of other Bell 214B.

Ekaterina Andreeva, Commercial Director, Volga-Dnepr Airlines, highlights: ‘This is the first time throughout our 30 years of operations when we transported four helicopters on a single occasion, with the loading being done in two steps. This requires exquisite workmanship of the loadmasters, technicians, and crew and is only achieved by accurate calculations, powered by experience and respective competence in helicopters' transportations. Since 1990, Volga-Dnepr has accomplished deliveries of more than 40 types of helicopters for humanitarian missions, medical, firefighting, law enforcement, tourism, and other civil purposes, as well as for aerospace exhibitions and airshows, and they know the special transportation requirements of each of them'.

Today Volga-Dnepr Group’s global team provides the helicopter industry with the technical and engineering air transport solutions the Group is known for, including technical and project concept consulting services. Loading and offloading of non-demountable large-scale units is one of the Group’s proven skills. The core components to make this happen are ‘natural resources’ being Volga-Dnepr’s personnel, the people behind the tools who have extended experience, knowledge, and skills to deliver any project, no matter how complex it may seem.