Black is back: Volga-Dnepr flies 70 tonnes of O&G gear to Korea

Volga-Dnepr Airlines’ resurgent oil-and-gas (O&G) cargo volumes are the latest indication that rising prices at the pump are translating into renewed investment in the sticky black stuff. A 68.8-tonne payload, including a pump and vaporizer skids that were flown to Seoul, South Korea, was a newsworthy illustration of how infrastructure-intensive the business is, and the growing role that air cargo plays in refining and processing crude.

Operated on behalf of Air Charter Service and France Heppner Transport & Logistics, a Volga-Dnepr An-124-100 freighter transported the cargo from Switzerland’s EuroAirport Basle-Mulhouse Freiburg to Seoul’s Incheon International Airport.

The shipment – two 19.5-tonne pieces and two more weighing 14.8 tonnes each – was loaded using the An-124-100’s onboard crane system.

Following the three-hour loading process, Alexandre Busila, cargo director of Air Charter Service France, said, “The loading of this cargo needed meticulous preparation with the Volga-Dnepr team. Thanks to our joint work, the flight was a real success. This charter project shows that the O&G industry is still doing well.”