Antonov 225, the world’s largest airplane, arrived in Dubai yesterday. Here’s a video of the monster landing…

Dubai World Central is the world’s 20th busiest airport in the world for international air freight, and yesterday afternoon it welcomed Mriya, a cargo plane that is the world’s most powerful and largest aircraft:

The plane had made stops in Australia, Turkey and Malaysia before coming to Dubai, and it’s now on its way to Italy.

Mriya means ‘dream’ in Ukranian, and is 275 feet long and 288 feet wide. The plane, which first flew way back in 1988, drew in a crowd of 10,000 people when it landed in Australia earlier this week.

The plane is the longest-winged, longest-bodied and heaviest aircraft in the world. Its size means it can haul 250 tons – the approximate equivalent of 250 fully-grown polar bears.

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The plane has come in particular handy in the past to send supplies to areas hit by natural disaster.

The Howard Hughes designed Spruce Goose plane did have a greater wingspan and height than the Mirya, but it was shorter and only flew once, and very briefly, back in 1947. It was binned as a project so its viability for flight was never further tested (it remains in good condition and is in a museum in Oregon).

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