The world’s largest aircraft the Antonov AN-225 Mriya arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Saturday morning, sparking excitement on social media platforms.

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd corporate communications general manager Nik Anis Nik Zakaria told Bernama that the aircraft was at KLIA for refuelling purposes only.

The plane flew in from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad, India and will fly to Perth, Australia once it has refueled.

The last time the gigantic aircraft landed in Malaysia was in 2007.



Netizens shared their excitement as they observed the plane landing at KLIA.





Previously, the Antonov AN-225 Mriya garnered the same attention from netizens in India.



The plane was built in the 1980s during the former Soviet Union era.

The wide body aircraft is powered by six turbofan engines and is the longest and heaviest airplane ever built, with a maximum takeoff weight of 640 tonnes, a statement said.

It has the largest wingspan of any aircraft in operational service, the statement said, adding the plane is specially built to undertake transcontinental route airlifting load between 180-230 tonnes.