Sony turns to AN-124 to resolve logistics crisis

Sony turns to AN-124 to resolve logistics crisis    Heavylift air cargo specialist Volga-Dnepr is helping Sony Corp. get the newest version of its popular PlayStation 2 game consoles to European retailers in time for the Christmas shopping season.
   Sony chartered the largest freighter in the world, the Russian-built Antonov-124, to ferry consoles from plants in China after a containership with its products was delayed by a temporary closure of Suez Canal, Bloomberg News reported last week.
   Traffic in the Suez Canal was disrupted after a Liberian-flagged Russian supertanker ran aground Nov. 8 when its steering system failed, creating a backlog of vessels waiting to pass through the narrow passage between the Mediterranean and Red Sea.
   The incident caused stores in England and France to run out of PlayStation 2 consoles during the peak shopping season, the news service reported.
   The AN-124, which has a 120-ton capacity, is normally used to ferry oversize cargo that doesn’t fit on other types of cargo planes.
   Volga-Dnepr has made 50 flights for Sony in the past month and is scheduled to make about 100 flights in total.