Canada accidentally acquired a massive cargo plane that has been racking up parking fees for nearly four years
Published on Feb 06, 2026 at 12:37 AM (UTC+4)
by Keelin McNamara
Last updated on Feb 05, 2026 at 3:37 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Canada once accidentally acquired a massive cargo plane – that’s acquired even bigger parking fees.
And it has been racking up daily charges for almost four years.
The aircraft in question has been stuck in a corner of Toronto Pearson Airport.
And it just so happens to be one of the largest cargo planes ever built.
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Canada manages to acquire Antonov An-124… accidentally
Most fans of airplanes have heard of an aircraft called the Antonov An-124.
It is most well-known because it is essentially a warehouse with wings.
The An-124 is, by some distance, one of the largest cargo planes ever built.
And Canada managed to accidentally get stuck with one.
In order to explain how Canada achieved this, we have to step back in time.

We actually have to step back to 2022 and the tail-end of the COVID-19 pandemic.
For those of you who can remember, it was a truly bizarre time.
With the world shutting down due to the virus, outside solutions were required.
And, when it came to Canada, it appeared that Russia was happy to oblige.
It sent an enormous Antonov An-124 full of COVID-19 rapid test kits to Canada.
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Cargo plane racks up insane amount in parking fees
What is interesting is that it safely landed at Toronto Pearson Airport.
And it never actually left.
For four straight years, the cargo plane has become the airport’s most expensive parking ticket.
In case you want the numbers, the aircraft has been parked at Toronto Pearson Airport since February 22nd, 2022.
Since then, the Antonov has been subject to the airport’s standard parking rate.
And that parking rate is CA$1,065.60 every 24 hours, according to Toronto City News.
That number alone probably doesn’t sound all that bad.

But multiply that number by 1,436 – the number of days it has been in situ – and the bill starts racking up fast.
It has actually ballooned to a figure of CA$1,530,000, – or $1,100,000.
To be clear, that has accumulated just for sitting still.
There is a certain irony in Canada accidentally getting stuck with such a massive cargo plane.
It is not a luxury asset in any way – in fact, it was purely designed as the ultimate skyborne workhorse.
Within hours of unloading its cargo, it was effectively frozen in place.
We will have to see how much more this massive cargo plane can rack up in parking fees.