Air New Zealand becomes the first airline to access an entirely new continent far from being covered by any other commercial airliner. The flag carrier of New Zealand has successfully completed its test flight to Antarctica from its hub of Auckland International Airport.
A Boeing 767 300ER is to be utilized for the route, which will follow up with 2 more flights this season. The airline has had no modifications been made for its special role in landing under one of the most extreme and unfavourable climate conditions. It has a fuel capacity for making a round trip to Antarctica from New Zealand and has both Business and Economy classes among its passenger cabins.
As for air traffic, a regular influx of thousands of scientists pours in every year. Research stations of numerous countries are established across Antarctica, overseeing research studies and projects and observing changes due to pollution factors. The entire zone is under considerable effort for being preserved from the effects of human settlement.
The US Air Force and the Royal New Zealand Air force have been operating flights using military aircraft such as the C 130 Hercules, C 17 Globemaster and Boeing 757s. Flights touch down at the Pegasus airfield in Ross Island, which serves both New Zealand’s Scott Base and the US Mc Murdo Station.
Antarctica is southernmost zone existent over the globe, surrounded by the Southern Ocean and centred by the South Pole. Its landscape is almost entirely covered wwith ice and provides the coldest natural environment. Wildlife habitats are minimal, restricted mostly to aquatic life and birdlife well adapted to the extreme cold. Air New Zealand used to operate commercial air tours within the vicinity of Antarctica three decades ago. The services were ceased as a safety feature when one of the routine flights resulted in a crash with the volcano of Ross Island, Mount Erebus.
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