A Russian Ilyushin IL-76 cargo aircraft, blacklisted by the US for suspicious activities, landed heavily loaded in Upington on Thursday.
It departed with an empty hold after later refuelling at Lanseria Airport, raising alarm about its undisclosed cargo.
The mystery flight, first reported by City Press on Sunday, has sparked concerns over transparency and compliance in South Africa’s aviation sector.
Operated by Moscow-based Abakan Air, the aircraft (registration RA-76445) was tracked on Flightradar24 (FR24) in Iran before arriving via Dar es Salaam, becoming visible only after departure from the Tanzanian hub.
Abakan Air, owned by Yulia Anatolyevna Ilyina, according to the site, ch-aviation.com, holds a Russian licence to transport radioactive cargo, intensifying speculation about its mission.
The US Treasury blacklisted the aircraft in June 2024 for moving Russian military equipment, linking Abakan to support flights for Russia’s Africa Corps, formerly the Wagner Group, active in nations like Libya and Mali.
Rapport confirmed the flight was unrelated to repatriating South African military equipment from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Upington’s 4 900m runway is one of the world’s longest. Its historical ties to the Vastrap weapons testing range, used for South Africa’s nuclear programme decades ago, add to the intrigue.
London-based watchdog blacklist.aero warned South African aviation suppliers against servicing the aircraft, citing Abakan’s more than R17-million debt for aviation services and sanction risks, as it is blacklisted by the US. Shortly before the aircraft landed, the watchdog sent a letter asking suppliers not to provide fuel or support services.
African countries that are only interested in Russian weapons, however, turn a blind eye to this violation, blacklist.aero said, alleging Abakan files false flight plans and disables transponders, breaching international aviation rules.
“If such a flight is additionally going to unload its cargo out of the public eye in Upington, one wonders why,” an aviation source told City Press.
The South African Department of Transport, which issued the aircraft’s foreign operator permit (FN/124/2025), did not respond to queries about the flight’s purpose.
