Marc Bow / HiFly NEW FRONTIERS Hi Fly: The first A340 in Antarctica POLAR PARALLEL There is a polar parallel with less-protected Greenland, after recent resurgence of US interest for increasingly accessible hydrocarbons and rare earth minerals, shipping access and strategic location over the North Pole. Greenlands capital, Nuuk (GOH/BGGH), expanded in 2024 to permit European and North American airline traffic, was, like Antarctica, previously reliant on smaller, internal connections. A US$300m runway extension and associated infrastructure has enabled connections to New Jersey and Copenhagen this year. Ilulissat and Qaqortoq Airports are due to follow in 2026, given the notoriously changeable weather and lack of domestic alternates beyond Kangerlussuaq. In warmer periods, snow might be replaced on top for temporary insulation. Constant care is needed to keep ice runways pristine; all vehicles are decontaminated before being allowed onto the runway and touchdown rubber deposits removed any localised surface darkening absorbs heat and threatens melting. With the movement of any glacier or ice stream down and out, runway shape, curvature and position will subtly change over a season; annual movement in the order of 50ft is not uncommon, monitored by laser. Though typically lacking any instrument approaches, any GPS procedures need to be periodically resurveyed. Antarctica has no conventional customs (airports are a terminal of shipping containers with a national flag) and operates as an international community, with passports only required on return to the originating country. ATC becomes a trained radio officer with handheld VHF, and there is fire cover and medical support, both key in Antarctica. Antarctic weather is notoriously unpredictable, with model output inevitably a function of limited raw data in, albeit actively shared by scattered scientific stations. Satellite validation is also limited by bandwidth and the frequency and times of the fewer polar satellite passes. Arrivals tend to be scheduled by night (an abstract concept depending on the time zone in use and permanent summer daylight) for the coldest temperatures. Three pilots are usually rostered with an engineer and spares kit to cover the most likely AOG scenarios. Sectors are typically five hours each way, operated under Extended Diversion Time Operations, with additional survival gear requirements. Communications include ADS-B flight following, HF and Iridium satellite until station Norse: First Boeing 787 Dreamliner lands in Antarctica Erik Moen/Norse Atlantic Airways Blue-ice runways are built for predictable, into-wind conditions at elevations high enough to maintain consistently sub-zero summer temperatures, air compressed out over centuries to reflect only the bluest light fraction. The interior is often cleared by dry, katabatic winds pouring down off the polar plateau, keeping moist air over the coast and scouring runways clear of blown snow. Overwintering staff can resurrect a blue-ice runway, the season beginning by snowblowing off the protective, winter covering. An initial surface scan is made by proof roller, and holes repaired with ice chips, snow and water. The surface is tillered by a PistenBully carving grooves, the shavings re-freezing for increased friction. A suitably roughened surface returns friction coefficients of 0.20.4, reasonable for lighter aircraft (40 passengers/10 tonnes of freight) on 3,000m+ runways. 24 THE LOG Spring 25 pp22-25 Antartica.indd 24 17/03/2025 14:17