Air Charter Service (ACS) arranged the shipment of two high cube containers for the oil and gas industry, fitting them into an Ilyushin IL-76 with centimetres to spare.

The containers were being transported from Italy to Saudi Arabia with vital oil and gas industry materials inside, and due to the size, the client had originally requested an Antonov AN-124.

ACS Group cargo director, Dan Morgan-Evans says weeks of planning went into the operating, saying: “As can be seen from the photos, the high cube containers only just fitted into the Ilyushin IL-76, with a clearance of less than 10 centimetres with the doors open.”

“The client originally requested an AN-124, as the cargo was three metres high, but after lengthy negotiations with them and the operator, as well as detailed diagrams, we were able to arrange the loading into the aircraft, saving the client a significant amount of money.”

He adds: “We are highly experienced with heavy and outsized cargo, but it is rare for the freight to be quite such a tight fit!”