It’s not every day that a commercial jetliner touches down in the most remote place on Earth. But, last January, on a beautiful sunny day in the middle of the southern hemisphere summer, a Boeing 767 made the rare and unique trek to the bottom of the world.
The flight, operated by Icelandair’s charter-flight subsidiary Loftleiðir, carried a team of 21 Norweigian scientists and provisions to Troll Airfield (QAT) in Princess Martha Coast, Queen Maud Land, Antarctica.
The airfield is owned by the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI), an agency of Norway’s Ministry of Climate and Environment that conducts scientific research and mapping and monitors environmental conditions. NPI has facilities in both the Arctic and the Antarctic.
Flying to the Bottom of the World
Originating at Reykjavik-Keflavik Airport in Iceland (KEF), the Icelandair 767-300ER (TF-ISN) flew to Oslo, Norway (OSL) to pick up the research team. The flight then continued on to Troll via a 13-hour flight to Cape Town, South Africa (CPT).
In Cape Town, the aircraft fueled up and picked up a new crew. The aircraft then left Cape Town for the nearly 2,700-mile flight to Troll. Five hours and 43 minutes later, the Icelandair crew executed a flawless landing on a perfectly smooth 9,927-foot-long glacial blue ice runway in Troll.
Despite an earlier forecast calling for low clouds at the time of landing, conditions actually ended up being perfect. Bright sunshine and light westerly winds made for an uneventful, but beautiful, VFR approach into Troll. The 24-hour midsummer Antarctic sun had warmed the air to a relatively balmy 21ºF.
Although the weather cooperated in the end, the flight crew received an in-flight message from Troll saying they had found a hole in the runway. According to co-pilot Bjartmar Örn Arnarson, the staff at Troll Airfield was able to perform a temporary fix on the hole. Thankfully, the 767 was able to land without issue (WATCH BELOW).
Why is Icelandair Flying to Antarctica?
The primary mission of the flight was to take the 21 scientists to Troll where they would serve through the following winter. After a two-hour layover, another team of Norweigian scientists – some of whom had been in Antarctica for 16 months – boarded the return flight to Oslo via Cape Town.
By this time, the temperature had dropped to 5ºF, but with clear skies and a light northeasterly breeze, conditions were still very favorable for departure. Ironically, the crew noted that the worst weather of the entire journey was upon arrival back into Keflavik.
Deicing is unusually unnecessary in Antarctica because of the continent’s dry climate. In the rare case that deicing would become necessary, Troll Airfield utilizes a heater and – wait for it – brooms.
Though quite rare, this was not the first time a commercial jet had touched down in Antarctica. The first commercial flight – also operated by Icelandair – to Antarctica took place in 2015. Several flights to the research station in Troll have occurred in the years since.
Take a moment to watch this flawless landing and takeoff at Troll. Entitled “Icelandair B767 Landing and Takeoff in Antarctica 2022,” this video was uploaded to YouTube by Extreme Aviation Iceland.
