Have you ever wondered why minimal trans-oceanic flights exist in the Southern Hemisphere? Looking at a map, it’s easy to see plenty of large bodies of water, such as the South Pacific Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean. This makes it difficult for some airlines to operate commercial flights safely. That’s where ETOPS
comes into play.
What is ETOPS?
ETOPS, or Extended-Range Twin-Engine Operations Performance Standards, is an international set of safety standards for twin-engine commercial passenger operations set out by the
International Civil Aviation Organisation
(ICAO). These measures ensure that in the event of a single engine failure, the affected aircraft can still safely reach its diversion airport using the remaining engine.
While the emergency diversion would be at a reduced speed or height, the acceptable limit is adjusted when over bodies of water or remote countryside. The introduction of ETOPS enables routes historically only feasible with three—or four-engine aircraft to be operated with dual-engine planes.
ETOPS was initially a certification that permitted twin-engine aircraft to fly between two points where the diversion required would have been more than 60 minutes. It required the aircraft to be within an acceptable distance of an airport suitable for an emergency landing.
Photo: Patrick Delapierre | AFI KLM E&M
This restriction saw many transatlantic flights be flown by aircraft that could accommodate these restrictions. Through development with various plane makers, engineers have improved the reliability of ETOPS. The Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) then permitted flights to be within 120 minutes away from diversion airports, which made twin-engine aircraft more efficient and able to meet the diversion point restriction.
For an aircraft to receive ETOPS certification, the manufacturer must demonstrate that the aircraft can fly with one engine and be manageable for the flight crew. While this is infrequent, airlines must also show that their flight crew’s training and extensive maintenance procedures are acceptable. With this, the certification is offset by reduced maintenance costs and the training required for engineers, pilots, and dispatchers.
With the development of ETOPS, aircraft dispatchers have been responsible for showing that flight planning is as safe as possible and that aircraft and crew can handle emergencies or complications when they occur.
Related
How ETOPS Works: Everything You Need To Know
The first official ETOPS operations were carried out by a TWA Boeing 767 in 1985.
Still a lack of trans-Oceanic flights in the Southern Hemisphere
When we look at international air travel, it is clear to see a large number of flight operations in busy flight corridors such as between North America and Europe; however, looking below the equator, there is still a lack of trans-oceanic flights that connect continents like South America to Australia
, or Africa.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
While there are plenty of options to travel between Spain and South America, there are minimal options if you need to get from Australia and the African continent (without going north of the equator).
Multiple factors
We can’t just blame the lack of flights between continents in the Southern Hemisphere solely on ETOPS; we must also look at the population between cities and cultural and political links. There are much larger populations in the Northern Hemisphere, and people may have more lineage to their ancestral countries (such as Portugal and Brazil or Germany and Namibia).
Using Australia and South America as examples, many technical challenges are also at play. While advancements in technology now mean that long-haul jets can travel across large oceans or bodies of water without refueling, they still must ensure they can reach an acceptable diversion airport within the aircraft’s ETOPS limit.
During the Norwegian Air Shuttles long-haul era, the airline made headlines when it announced its intentions to commence non-stop flights between Buenos Aires and Perth. This would see the then carrier, Boeing 787 Dreamliner
, travel across the South Pole, becoming one of the first airlines to achieve such a route. Unfortunately, the airline’s fortunes took a nosedive in the lead-up. During the pandemic, the airline wound down its Argentinian and long-haul subsidiaries, and the route never came to fruition.
You could argue how a flight can travel between Buenos Aires and Perth, which is much more of an achievement when compared to Qantas’ current Boeing 787 Dreamliner flights between Perth and London Heathrow Airport
. While varying aircraft have a maximum range and payload, the flight between London and Perth has multiple emergency diversion airports en route that would enable the flight to land safely in the case of an emergency, such as engine failure.
The challenge for airlines traveling in the Southern Hemisphere, between continents, is that the flights would operate over the South Pole. While the overall distance for the airlines isn’t a challenge, it is the lack of acceptable diversion airports, so if someone falls ill onboard. The aircraft needed to divert for a medical emergency; there are no suitable airports for it. This is contrary to flights between North America and Europe, where we frequently see aircraft divert to Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, or Keflavik International Airport
, serving Reykjavik, Iceland.
Travel across the South Pole and Antarctica can be treated like flying over the open ocean, where the ETOPS requirement steps in. Airlines must adhere to the rules the ICAO sets to ensure they fly over areas with potential diversion airports when required. Crossing Antarctica is feasible with an aircraft with just two engines, but the problem is that they have nowhere to go in an emergency.
Related
How Perth Airport Could Become The Gateway To South America
Trans-oceanic flights in the Southern Hemisphere
While the aviation landscape is continually changing, Simple Flying examined some trans-oceanic flights currently in operation; note that this list is not exhaustive, and is just a snapshot of a few flights currently in operation:
Flight schedules have been sourced from Flightradar24 and are based on operations in the first week of January 2025.
Qantas: Sydney to Johannesburg
Qantas
is the only carrier directly connecting Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD) to South Africa’s Johannesburg O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB).
While the route is commonly operated by the airline’s Boeing 787-9
aircraft, this Southern Hemisphere summer season, the airline has upgraded the flight to the iconic double-decker Airbus A380, being the only airline to operate an A380 to flights solely within the Southern Hemisphere, and also the only flight south of the equator that features the airline’s flagship first class product.
The airline follows the schedule below:
Flight number |
From |
To |
Departure Time |
Arrival Time |
Frequency |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
QF63 |
Sydney (SYD) |
Johannesburg (JNB) |
09:30 |
14:45 |
Six weekly |
QF64 |
Johannesburg (JNB) |
Sydney (SYD) |
17:15 |
14:15 |
Six weekly |
Related
9-Hour Go Round: Qantas Airbus A380 Flight To Johannesburg Makes U-Turn To Sydney Near Antarctica
The aircraft landed safely.
TAAG Angola: Luanda to Sao Paulo
The flag carrier of the African country of Angola is TAAG Angola. The airline operates several short-, medium-, and long-haul operations, including its direct link between Luanda Quatro de Fevereiro Airport (LAD) and São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport (GRU).
Served four times weekly, TAAG Angola connects Luanda to Sao Paulo with its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. The aircraft has onboard 12 first class, 56 business, and 225 economy class seats. This unique route remains popular due to the country’s strong Portuguese heritage. The airline follows the schedule below:
Flight number |
From |
To |
Departure Time |
Arrival Time |
Frequency |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
DT747 |
Luanda (LAD) |
Sao Paulo (GRU) |
23:00 |
03:30 |
Four weekly |
DT748 |
Sao Paulo (GRU) |
Luanda (LAD) |
18:15 |
06:30 |
Four weekly |
Historically, the Angolan carrier also flew between Luanda and Rio de Janeiro. However, this has been terminated.
Related
Exotic: A Look At TAAG Angola’s Boeing 777 São Paulo Flights
The route carried approximately 110,000 passengers in 2019.
LATAM: Santiago to Auckland
LATAM Airlines’ direct service between Santiago Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL) and Auckland International Airport (AKL) connects Chile to New Zealand. The flight continues from Auckland to Sydney (SYD), feeding more passengers into the service.
This solely Southern-Hemisphere trans-oceanic service operates daily onboard a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, to the below schedule:
Flight number |
From |
To |
Departure Time |
Arrival Time |
Frequency |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
LA801 |
Santiago (SCL) |
Auckland (AKL) |
00:40 |
05:20 |
Daily |
LA801 |
Auckland (AKL) |
Sydney (SYD) |
07:35 |
09:25 |
Daily |
LA800 |
Sydney (SYD) |
Auckland (AKL) |
11:40 |
16:50 |
Daily |
LA800 |
Auckland (AKL) |
Santiago (SCL) |
19:05 |
14:10 |
Daily |
Related
LATAM Increases Auckland & Sydney Flight Frequency To Daily
Here’s a look at LATAM’s operation to New Zealand and Australia.
Several other trans-oceanic flights take flights in the Southern Hemisphere, which include:
- Aircalin, between Noumea and Papeete
- Air Tahiti Nui, between Papeete and Auckland
- Air Mauritius, between Port Louis and Perth
- South African Airlines, between Perth and Johannesburg
- South African Airlines, between Johannesburg and Sao Paulo
- LATAM, between Santiago and Melbourne
- LATAM Brasil, between Sao Paulo and Johannesburg