Flights over the North / South pole?
Aug 20, 2000, 3:09 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2000
Posts: 938
Flights over the North / South pole?
Does anybody know if there are currently any commercial passenger airlines flying routes over the North or the South pole?
Just went through some old papers and came across a certificate from Finnair for having been on the North pole, at an altitude of 33,000 feet. It was back in 1987 when they didn't yet have access to fly over Russian (or the then soviet) airspace through the trans-Siberian route so they had to go around via the polar route and through the (Berintz?) straits between Russia and Alaska for the HEL-NRT flights. It was a DC-10 with extra fuel tanks fitted to make the up to 14 hour flight.
Just curious, are there any airlines flying the polar routes today?
Just went through some old papers and came across a certificate from Finnair for having been on the North pole, at an altitude of 33,000 feet. It was back in 1987 when they didn't yet have access to fly over Russian (or the then soviet) airspace through the trans-Siberian route so they had to go around via the polar route and through the (Berintz?) straits between Russia and Alaska for the HEL-NRT flights. It was a DC-10 with extra fuel tanks fitted to make the up to 14 hour flight.
Just curious, are there any airlines flying the polar routes today?
Aug 20, 2000, 6:27 am
#3
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Join Date: Jun 2000
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Aerolineas have I think flown Aust-NZ-Argentina over South Pole for 10 years or so.
There are regular daily Qantas 747 sightseeing flights over the south pole from Aust.
North Pole will be a MAJOR traffic corridor now Russian and Canadian have Okayed the deal re monies and route as I understand it.
Saves about 4 hours on USA-Hong Kong flights
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~ Glen ~