Airbus and Boeing Charter Giant Antonov An-124 to Plug Gaps in Fragile Aerospace Supply Chain

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Airbus and Boeing have chartered the Ukrainian-built Antonov An-124, one of the world’s largest cargo aircraft, to airlift critical aerostructures for the A350 and 767 programs, exposing thin buffer stocks and persistent supply chain fragility that continue to threaten production ramp-ups.

The rare use of the four-engine An-124 Ruslan, reported by Reuters on July 15, signals that both manufacturers are resorting to emergency logistics to keep assembly lines moving. The charters come as the industry struggles to recover from pandemic-era disruptions and the collapse of key supplier Spirit AeroSystems.

Two industry sources told Reuters that Airbus is flying A350 fuselage sections from a former Spirit AeroSystems plant in Kinston, North Carolina, to France by air rather than by sea. The shift from maritime transport to the Antonov indicates that buffer stocks have dwindled. One source said that when Airbus took over the Kinston facility in December 2024, there was a buffer of four sets of parts. Now, air freight is required to avoid new delivery delays.

An Airbus spokesperson said the company “sometimes use the Antonov,” but did not confirm whether the recent flights were for A350 components. The spokesperson added that integrating the Kinston plant into Airbus operations “remains a complex multi-year journey to complete.”

Boeing, meanwhile, chartered the same An-124 in late June to transport two upper fuselage sections from a Daher Aerospace factory in Florida to its plant in Everett, Washington, according to U.S. regulatory filings reviewed by Reuters. The parts, normally moved by land, were “urgently required for the production of the 767.” Boeing warned that “those delays would impose a significant economic cost if not avoided.” A Boeing spokesperson said the company uses “a variety of transportation methods to maintain stability in our production,” without commenting directly on the An-124 charter.

The reliance on outsized air cargo underscores a broader vulnerability in aerospace logistics. Planemakers typically use dedicated sea freight, trucking networks, and converted cargo jets like Boeing’s Dreamlifter or Airbus’s BelugaXL to move large assemblies. Switching to the An-124, which is larger than the U.S. Air Force’s C-5M Super Galaxy by some measures, adds cost and complexity.

Analysts note that while overall aircraft deliveries have risen this year, pockets of delay persist in the aerostructures sector and other areas like seating. The breakup of Spirit AeroSystems, which supplied fuselage sections for both Airbus and Boeing, has forced both manufacturers to absorb and restructure supplier facilities, a process that is straining capacity.

The 767 airframe, no longer produced as a passenger jet, remains critical for Boeing’s military and freighter programs. It is used to build the KC-46A aerial refueling tanker for the U.S. Air Force and is in its final production run as a commercial freighter before new regulations take effect.

Airbus told analysts in a pre-results briefing on July 16 that it had not changed its assumptions on the profit drag from absorbing the Spirit facilities into its 2026 outlook. However, the need for emergency airlifts suggests that supply chain normalization remains distant. Boeing’s repeated filings for An-124 exemptions, including one on July 1 for another Daher-made part, indicate the issue is not isolated.

For freight operators and charter brokers, the renewed demand for the An-124, a Cold War-era design now operated by a limited pool of carriers, highlights a niche but growing market for emergency heavy-lift capacity when just-in-time aerospace logistics fail.