Antarctica Scenic Flights

Think of a place twice the size of Australia, but even further south. Whereas Australia is generally known for its warm to very hot weather, Antarctica is quite the opposite. Yet despite its inhospitable nature, Antarctica scenic flights continue to prove popular with tourists from around the world.

It was in the late 1970′s that sightseeing flights started up from Australia and New Zealand. For just over a decade flights from 1980 from Australia were halted, but resumed again in the early 1990′s. As you might expect, the distance Antarctica is away from Australia makes the flights long ones, taking 12 to 14 hours, with up to four hours over the continent.

Qantas use such leading aircraft as the Airbus A380 or 747-400 for luxury and comfort. Specialists who operate these Antarctica scenic flights normally have experts on board the planes to act as ‘guides’ who will provide information about the many wonderful features of this largely unexplored continent. These guides may be scientists, glaciologists, explorers or mountaineers, who have in depth knowledge about Antarctica.

Smaller aircraft are used for sightseeing trips by some other companies in the South Pole. If you would like to fly and set foot on the Antarctic landmass then you will have to travel to Punta Arenas in Chile and depart from there with the Aerovias Dap airline. You can choose between a full day trip or spending a night and two days in this remote and largely untouched destination.

The Aerovias Dap airline has made use of a variety of small aircraft for their Antarctica flights which include the Twin Otter, King Air 100, the DHC-7, and turboprop Dash-7 which has a passenger capacity of 44, plus a Beechcraft King Air twin engine turboprop which carries ten passengers.

The flight time from Chile to the Antarctic airport of Frei Base at King George Island is three and a half hours.

For those who prefer to view this beautiful glacier landscape from on up high, or don’t like sailing, then Antarctica scenic flights are a great alternative to  get to travel to this southernmost of all continents.