912 DAYS AND COUNTING: Russian plane remains stranded at Pearson Airport in Mississauga, Ontario
Published August 27, 2024 at 2:23 pm
A huge Russian-owned cargo plane that’s been sitting on the tarmac at Pearson Airport in Mississauga for two-and-a-half years likely won’t be going anywhere soon.
As recently as Monday, the Antonov An-124 aircraft, the world’s largest production cargo plane, could still easily be spotted by highway drivers as it sits backed up against a chain-link security fence at Canada’s biggest and busiest airport.
The large plane has been on the tarmac at Pearson since Feb. 27, 2022, shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and subsequent closing of Canadian airspace to all Russian-owned planes.
As of Tuesday, the aircraft has called Pearson home for 912 days and it remains at the centre of an ownership dispute between Russia’s Volga-Dnepr Airlines, to which the aircraft is registered, and the Canadian government, which seized the plane more than one year ago.
Volga-Dnepr Airlines, as reported earlier this year by the Wall Street Journal, is suing Ottawa as it seeks to show Canadian government sanctions against it are invalid.
The legal tussle that continues to play out in federal court is expected to, at some point, determine once and for all the fate of the aircraft.
Videos
Volga-Dnepr reportedly approached Ottawa last year to begin discussions about having the cargo plane returned after it had been seized by the Canadian government in late spring 2023.
Ottawa had earlier imposed sanctions on the airline.
After the Canadian government seized the aircraft last year, it then revealed its intention to deliver it to Ukraine as part of an aid package.
During an unannounced visit to Kyiv at that time to show Canada’s support for Ukraine’s fight against Russia, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the seized Russian-registered plane would soon be given to his nation so it could never be used by Russia again.
The plane was reportedly bringing a shipment of COVID-19 test kits from China to Pearson via Russia and then Anchorage, Alaska, where it apparently stopped for refuelling just before its landing in Mississauga in February 2022.
As of March 29, 2023, the aircraft’s owner owed an estimated $423,476 in “parking fees” to the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, which operates Pearson.
At that time, the tab was growing by $1,108.80 each day (77 cents per minute as of implementation of new fees on Jan. 1, 2023), according to Pearson’s aeronautical charges and fees schedule.
However, given the dispute over the plane’s ownership, it’s not clear if that tab continues to increase and, if so, when and if the money would be paid to the GTAA.
If the meter is still running, the estimated parking fees would likely be approaching $1.1 million, according to rough calculations.
Below is one of the initial social media reports back in February 2022 that identified the stranded cargo plane.
INsauga's Editorial Standards and PoliciesRussian registered Antonov An124 is now parked on Taxiway N in Toronto. It will sit here indefinitely. They planned a departure this morning,since cancelled.Arrived on Sunday from China via Russia & Anchorage. Russian aircraft are banned in Canadian airspace.
Volga-Dnepr RA-82078 https://t.co/OGXNFInAQU pic.twitter.com/3rfxhRDUs5— Tom Podolec Aviation (@TomPodolec) February 28, 2022