The Antonov An-225 was the bigger and stronger aircraft. It carried 250 tonnes, against the 150 tonnes Airbus designed the A380-800F to carry. It was also 11 metres longer and had a wingspan almost 9 metres wider.
The A380-800F had the advantage in range. It was designed to fly its full load about 10,400 km, more than twice as far as a fully loaded An-225.
There is one more difference that matters more than any number. The An-225 was real and flew for 33 years. The A380-800F never left the drawing board, because Airbus suspended it in 2007 after every customer cancelled.
Today neither aircraft flies. The only An-225 was destroyed at Hostomel, Ukraine, in February 2022.
An-225 vs. A380-800F: specifications side by side
An-225 figures are for the aircraft as it flew. A380-800F figures are Airbus design targets, because no A380 freighter was built.
| Specification | Antonov An-225 Mriya | Airbus A380-800F |
|---|---|---|
| Status | One built, destroyed February 2022 | Never built, suspended 2007 |
| First flight | 21 December 1988 | None |
| Maximum payload | 250 tonnes | 150 tonnes |
| Cargo volume | About 1,300 m³ | About 1,134 m³ |
| Maximum take-off weight | 640 tonnes | 590 tonnes |
| Empty weight | 285 tonnes | 252 tonnes |
| Length | 84.0 m | 72.7 m |
| Wingspan | 88.4 m | 79.8 m |
| Height | 18.1 m | 24.1 m |
| Engines | 6 × Progress D-18T | 4 × Trent 900 or GP7200 |
| Range with heavy load | About 4,000 km with 200 tonnes | About 10,400 km with 150 tonnes |
| Cruise speed | About 800 km/h | Mach 0.85, about 900 km/h |
| Cargo decks | 1 | 3 |
| Flight crew | 6 | 2 |
The An-225 wins five of the six size and weight rows. The A380-800F is taller, flies further and needs a third of the crew.
Payload and cargo volume: 250 tonnes vs. 150 tonnes
The An-225 could lift 100 tonnes more than the A380-800F was designed to carry. That is a 67% advantage in weight.
The gap in volume is much smaller. The An-225 hold enclosed about 1,300 m³. The A380-800F offered about 1,134 m³ across its three decks, only 13% less.
Those two numbers show what each aircraft was for:
- An-225: about 190 kg of payload for every cubic metre of hold. It was built for dense, heavy objects such as generators, turbines and locomotives.
- A380-800F: about 130 kg per cubic metre. It was built for express parcels, which fill an aircraft with volume long before they reach its weight limit.
The An-225 also proved its numbers in service. On 11 September 2001 it carried 253.82 tonnes on a record flight. In August 2009 it flew a 189.98-tonne generator, the heaviest single item ever moved by air. The A380-800F figures were never tested.
Size, engines and range
Size
The An-225 was longer and wider. The A380-800F would have been taller.
At 84 m long with an 88.4 m wingspan, the An-225 was the longest and heaviest aircraft ever to enter service. The A380-800F shared the passenger A380’s airframe: 72.7 m long, 79.8 m across the wings and 24.1 m to the top of the tail. That tail stands 6 m higher than the An-225’s twin fins.
Engines
The An-225 needed six Progress D-18T engines of about 230 kN each to lift 640 tonnes. The A380-800F would have used four newer, more powerful engines, either the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 or the Engine Alliance GP7200.
Four modern engines burn far less fuel per tonne carried than six 1980s engines. That efficiency was the core of Airbus’s sales pitch to cargo airlines.
Range
The A380-800F wins on range by a wide margin. Airbus designed it to carry 150 tonnes about 10,400 km (5,600 nautical miles) non-stop, enough for Europe to Asia or the US West Coast.
The An-225 managed about 4,000 km with a 200-tonne load. Heavy charters across oceans needed one or more fuel stops. With little cargo and full tanks it could reach about 15,400 km.
Loading: one giant hold vs. three decks
The two aircraft handled cargo in opposite ways, and this decides which jobs each could do.
The An-225 had one open hold. It measured 43.35 m long, 6.4 m wide and 4.4 m high. The whole nose swung upward, and the nose gear knelt to lower the floor. Cargo drove or rolled straight in. Four overhead cranes inside the hold could each lift 5 tonnes.
That layout suited single objects that cannot be split. The An-225 carried wind turbine blades 42.1 m long. It could also carry loads on its back, up to 200 tonnes and 70 m long, which is how it moved the Soviet Buran space shuttle.
The A380-800F would have had three separate decks. Airport Technology lists 28 pallets on the main deck, 17 on the upper deck and 13 in the lower hold. All of it went through side cargo doors, with no nose door.
That layout suited thousands of small shipments on standard pallets. It could not accept one very long or very tall object. The upper deck also sat so high that airports would have needed special high-reach loaders to serve it.
| Cargo type | Better aircraft | Why |
|---|---|---|
| One 180-tonne generator | An-225 | Too heavy for the A380-800F and too big for its doors |
| 40 m wind turbine blades | An-225 | Needs a single hold more than 40 m long |
| 140 tonnes of parcels, Frankfurt to Hong Kong | A380-800F | Flies it non-stop on standard pallets |
| Vehicles and helicopters | An-225 | Drive-in nose loading |
| Nightly scheduled express freight | A380-800F | Lower fuel burn and a two-pilot crew |
Why the A380-800F was never built
Airbus suspended the A380-800F in 2007 because it had no customers left. Production delays on the passenger A380 pushed freighter deliveries back by years, and cargo airlines would not wait.
The order book emptied in four months:
- November 2006: FedEx, the launch customer, cancelled its 10 aircraft and turned to Boeing freighters.
- Late 2006 to early 2007: Emirates and leasing company ILFC switched their freighter orders to passenger A380s.
- March 2007: UPS, the last customer, cancelled its 10 aircraft.
Delays were the trigger, but the design had weaknesses of its own:
- No nose door. The rival Boeing 747 freighters could load long cargo through the nose.
- Costly ground handling. Two full-length upper decks needed new loaders at every airport served.
- Too big for most routes. Few cargo networks could fill 150 tonnes every night.
- Four engines. Twin-engine freighters such as the Boeing 777F soon offered lower costs per flight.
Airbus never revived the programme. The last passenger A380 was delivered in 2021, which ended any chance of a factory-built freighter.
What happened to the An-225
The only An-225 was destroyed in its hangar at Hostomel airport near Kyiv in February 2022, in the first days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine announced the loss on 27 February 2022.
As of November 2026 it has not been rebuilt, and there is no confirmed schedule to do so. Here is what is known:
- Cost: Antonov estimated in November 2022 that a rebuild would cost at least 500 million euros. An earlier Ukrainian state estimate was above 3 billion US dollars.
- Second airframe: A second An-225 was started in 1989 and left unfinished in 1994. Antonov planned to combine it with parts salvaged from the wreck.
- Paused: Ukrainian media reported in September 2024 that Antonov had paused the work until the war ends.
- Possible loss of the second airframe: Russian drones struck Sviatoshyn airfield in Kyiv on 11 and 12 April 2025. Several outlets reported that the unfinished airframe was probably destroyed in the fire. Antonov has not confirmed or denied this.
- No recent update: Aerospace Global News reported in February 2026 that Antonov had given no substantive news on the project for a year.
A realistic reading is that a second Mriya is uncertain and, at best, many years away.
Verdict: which aircraft was better?
The An-225 was the better heavy lifter. The A380-800F would have been the better freight airliner. They were not real competitors.
Choose the An-225 if the question is raw capability. It carried more weight, took longer and taller cargo, and could load a single 190-tonne object. Nothing else in aviation could do those jobs, and nothing can today.
Choose the A380-800F if the question is everyday economics. On paper it would have moved 150 tonnes of palletised freight twice as far, with fewer engines and a two-pilot crew. For a parcel airline flying the same route every night, that matters more than record payloads.
Choose the An-225 if the question is which one counts. One of these aircraft flew for 33 years and set payload records that still stand. The other exists only as brochures and cancelled orders.
The work both were meant to do now falls to smaller aircraft. The Antonov An-124 handles outsize charters, and the Boeing 747-8F and 777F carry most long-haul scheduled freight.
Frequently asked questions
Is the An-225 bigger than the Airbus A380?
Yes, in length, wingspan and weight. The An-225 was 84 m long with an 88.4 m wingspan and a 640-tonne maximum take-off weight. The A380 is 72.7 m long with a 79.8 m wingspan. The A380 is taller, at 24.1 m against 18.1 m.
How much could the A380 freighter carry?
Airbus designed the A380-800F to carry 150 tonnes about 10,400 km. Its three decks offered about 1,134 m³ of cargo volume.
Was an A380-800F ever built?
No. Airbus suspended the programme in 2007 after FedEx and UPS cancelled, and no prototype was completed.
Why did FedEx and UPS cancel the A380 freighter?
Delivery delays. Problems building the passenger A380 pushed the freighter back by years, and both airlines needed capacity sooner. FedEx cancelled in November 2006 and UPS in March 2007.
Is the An-225 being rebuilt?
Not at present. Antonov announced a rebuild in 2022 at an estimated cost of at least 500 million euros, then paused work until the war ends. The status of the unfinished second airframe has been unclear since an April 2025 strike on the Kyiv airfield where it was stored.
How many An-225s were built?
One. A second airframe was started in 1989 but never finished.
What is the largest cargo plane flying today?
For outsize loads it is the Antonov An-124, the four-engine aircraft the An-225 was developed from. The largest freighter built in series for airlines is the Boeing 747-8F, which carries about 138 tonnes.
Hi, I’m Bruno. I’ve worked in the aviation industry for over 6 years as a B1.1 Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer. This blog is where I share insights on aviation and travel globally.