Report, photo copyright by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA
On 15 November 2024, local time, a 787 passenger plane (registration number LN-FNC) of Norse Atlantic Airways (Norse, in shot) successfully flew to Antarctica again. The main task of this special flight is to transport scientists, logistics personnel, and a batch of 10.5 tons of living supplies and scientific research equipment.
A year ago, the Norse 787 Dreamliner successfully landed in Antarctica for the first time, making history. A year later, Norse successfully completed the second charter mission to Troll Airport. This operation is exactly the same as the first mission last year, and the route of Oslo-Cape Town-Troll Airport-Cape Town-Oslo was used.
Norse plans to carry out a total of 4 Antarctic charter missions. The aircraft's excellent fuel efficiency allows it to complete round-trip flights from Cape Town to Antarctica without refueling. Its spacious cargo hold provides ample space for transporting key research equipment to support scientific activities in the challenging environment of Antarctica.
Mette Birkedahl, Director of Charter and ACMI of Norse, emphasized the importance of this mission and pointed out: "Returning to Antarctica with the Dreamliner once again demonstrates our expertise in complex logistics operations. This milestone not only reflects our insistence on operational excellence, but also demonstrates the growing demand for our operational capabilities in remote destinations."
The Norwegian Polar Institute highly praised the successful completion of this mission. "The second successful landing marks an important milestone," said John Guldal, Director of Operations and Logistics. He emphasized that the introduction of the 787 Dreamliner has improved logistics capabilities, and each flight can transport more goods and personnel, which strongly supports Norway's scientific research projects in Antarctica.
Is there a runway for the plane to land in Antarctica?
There is a very special blue ice runway in Antarctica. The extremely cold environment in Antarctica causes snowfall to gradually turn into ice during the long-term accumulation and melting process. This ice expels the air inside under high pressure, becomes denser, and presents transparent blue, which is the so-called "blue ice".
In addition, in some extremely low-lying areas, strong winds blow away the soft snow on the surface, revealing hard blue ice. This ice layer is very smooth and strong, suitable as a natural runway.
The strength of blue ice is enough to withstand the takeoff and landing of large aircraft. After scientific measurement and evaluation, its carrying capacity is equivalent to that of traditional airport runways. Although the surface of blue ice is slippery, special treatments such as sprinkling sand or carving grooves can effectively increase friction and ensure the safe operation of aircraft.
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