Summary
- The first-ever Boeing 787 Dreamliner flight successfully landed in Antarctica, carrying scientists and supplies to Troll research station.
- Flying an aircraft to Antarctica is challenging due to freezing conditions and the absence of conventional runways.
- The summer season is the optimal time for travel. Airlines have previously operated flights to the continent using types such as the Boeing 767 and Airbus A340.
The first-ever Boeing 787 Dreamliner flight to the continent of Antarctica has successfully landed. Operated by Norwegian low-cost carrier Norse Atlantic, the aircraft carried scientists and vital supplies bound for Troll research station.
Norse Atlantic flies Dreamliner to Antarctica
Norse Atlantic flight N0787 touched down at Troll Airfield (QAT), Queen Maud Land, at 02:01 local time on Thursday morning. The flight originated in Oslo (OSL), departing the Norwegian airport on November 13, stopping off at Cape Town (CPT) on its way to the Antarctic. The plane spent over 40 hours in South Africa before departing CPT at 23:03 on Wednesday.
Earlier this month, Norse Atlantic announced its intention to operate a one-off Dreamliner charter flight to Antarctica. Scientists from the Norwegian Polar Institute and critical supplies were onboard the flight, heading to Troll research station around 7km from Troll Airfield.
While this is the first time a Boeing 787 Dreamliner has actually landed in Antarctica, Australian carrier Qantas has used its 787-9 fleet to conduct scenic flights over the icy continent and sometimes takes this routing on commercial routes too.
How difficult are Antarctica flights?
Flying such a large aircraft to the Antarctic is a challenge – particularly the landing and takeoff stage – given the freezing conditions. Icelandair has previously flown its Boeing 767s to the continent, but yesterday’s flight represents the first time a 787 has done it.
Photo: Hi Fly
Antarctica has no conventional paved runways like you would find at a regular airport. Instead, aircraft must land and takeoff from blue ice runways (Troll Airfield’s runway is 3,000 meters long and 60 meters wide). Check out the video below of an Icelandair 767 taking off from Troll Airfield back in 2021:
Climate conditions can also be an obstacle, as a team of scientists found out earlier this month after having to wait an extra week for an Icelandair plane to arrive. It is currently the summer season in the Southern Hemisphere, which is when most flights to and from Antarctica take place.
In 2021, charter airline HiFly operated the continent’s first-ever Airbus A340 flight, this time to Wolf’s Fang Runway (WFR), also in Queen Maud Land. The 787-9 is longer than Icelandair’s 767-300ER, although HiFly’s A340-300 is a couple of feet longer and also has a heavier MTOW.
About LN-FNC
The aircraft chosen for this mission is a Norse Atlantic Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (registration: LN-FNC) – the widebody is five years old and previously flew under Norwegian subsidiary Norwegian UK before it was grounded in March 2020.
Owned by aviation lessor AerCap, LN-FNC joined Norse Atlantic’s fleet in June 2022. Norse (and its UK subsidiary) operate with an all-Dreamliner fleet of ten 787-9s.
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