a man standing in the snow next to an airplane

Trip Report: Flying Airbus A340 to Antarctica Ice Runway + Antarctica Tour

Trip Report: Flying Airbus A340 to Antarctica Ice Runway + Tour

Sam Chui·December 18, 2022

On Dec 8th, I boarded a Hi Fly A340-300 chartered for White Desert Antarctica (Tour Operator) to fly to the seventh continent; Antarctica.

I joined the one-day tour to Antarctica called "The Greatest Day".

Video

The Trip to Antarctica

a plane on the tarmac — Hi Fly A340; 9H-TQZ

a group of people standing in a doorway of an airplane

a group of people standing in front of a plane

The flight time from Cape Town to Wolf’s Fang Runway in Antarctica was 5 hours and 15 minutes.

We were flying from 33 degrees South to 71 degrees South in latitude.

Commander Carlos Mirpuri of Hi Fly explained the Antarctic flight operating conditions and requirements.

It requires visual weather conditions with less than 15-20 knots of crosswind. But most importantly, the temperature cannot be too warm as the ice is melting makes landing conditions slippery. The ice runway needs to maintain sufficient friction for the airplane to brake during landing.

The A340-300, 9H-TQZ, was ex Emirates as you can tell from the interiors. It has 3 class layout with 12 First Class, 42 Business Class, and 213 Economy Class seats. We took off from Cape Town with about 40 passengers around 4:30 pm local time at Cape Town.

a plane with seats and a few other seats

an aerial view of a rocky island — Once we departed Cape Town, we flew over The Cape of Good Hope. That was the last landmark before ocean crossing.

The flight ops created one waypoint every 5 degrees South in latitude. Flight time was 5 hours and 15 minutes.

During the flight, dinner was served with full-bar drinks.

a plate of food and a glass of juice on a table

a woman wearing an apron and holding plates of food

The Antarctica season is from mid-November to early February every year.

During the flight, the founder of White Desert Antarctica Patrick explained what to expect in Antarctica in my video.

White Desert offers both 1-day tour and 5-7 day tour itineraries.

We started to see some icebergs before reaching the coast of Antarctica.

As we flew closer to Antarctica, passengers changed into Antarctic clothing and got ready for the exploration.

The weather conditions were good with clear visibility for the landing at Wolf’s Fang runway.

The runway friction index was also sufficient to allow the airplane to stop during braking.

two men in white uniforms in a cockpit of an airplane

Our A340 landed at Wolf’s Fang Runway 17 (71º 32’ 00” S 8º 50’ 00” E) around 1930 UTC time. According to the pilot, we had some tail wind until 500 feet, then some cross wind from 090 degrees.

I was lucky enough to observe the Antarctic landing from the jumpseat. Watch the landing in my video.

Video

The runway length is 3,000m and 60m wide. Wolf’s Fang Runway is operated by White Desert Antarctica and it’s the only blue ice runway. It takes 22 hours to groom and prepare the runway for every jet landing.

After landing, we were transported by 4x4 to climb a nearby Nunatak (small mountain) and were just amazed at the pristine landscape; the white desert!

a snowy landscape with rocks and a body of water

a snow covered ground with a path in the middle

a large flat snowy area with a plane in the distance

a man wearing sunglasses and a hat standing on a hill with snow

a man standing on a rock with a thumbs up in the air

a selfie of two men in sunglasses and hats in snow

a group of people standing on a rocky mountain top

Interestingly, the sun never set during the Antarctic summer. The photo was taken around 10pm UTC time. (12am Cape Town)

a snow covered hill next to a body of water

I also visited the newly opened Echo Camp for refreshments before the flight back. It was a productive 3 hours in Antarctica and getting a taste of the most remote continent. Certainly one of "The Greatest Day" in my aviation and travel memory!

We got back at the A340 and took off around 2230 UTC time. It was still daylight!

Leaving Antarctica, Wolf's Fang Runway from the downwind departure.

a cockpit of an airplane with people in it — The sun eventually set as we flew away from Antarctica but a full bright moon shined on our way back.

an aerial view of a land with water and clouds — After 5 hrs, we reach the shore of Africa over the cape of good hope.

a man in a white shirt in a cockpit of an airplane — Landing back at Cape Town Int'l Airport at 6am local time.
The entire trip to Antarctica and back took about 15 hours to complete.

a group of people in uniform standing in front of an airplane

I hope you enjoy the trip together with me. Next year, I am looking to lead a private trip to Antarctica to relive the experience again.

For more information on the Antarctica tour, visit white-desert.com

Video

Tour Extension

White Desert operates two Basler BT-67 (Turbo DC-3) in Antarctica taking tourists to the Geographical South Pole (90 degree South). This is on their 5-7 day itineraries.