THE WORLD’S LARGEST jet has stopped off at Shannon Airport.
The Antonov An-225 Mriya touched down shortly before 3am this morning and will remain at the airport until 10pm tonight.
The jet landed in Shannon as it’s the only airport in the country with a runway large enough.
Because of its size, the airlifter requires a runway of between 3,000 and 3,500 meters in length to take off.
The 6-engined jet with 32 wheels is travelling from America to France.
Many people made their way to Shannon to catch a glimpse of the jet coming in:
This isn’t the jet’s first visit to Shannon Airport, it last landed in May 2013.
Here is it taking off (with some commentary from Irish children watching it with their dad):
It was designed and built by the Antonov Design Bureau in the Ukraine.
It first flew on December 21st 1988 and was designed to transport the Russian space shuttle “Buran” to its launch site.
Originally posted 8:05 am.
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