Summary
- Qantas flew a southern route between Santiago and Sydney over Antarctica twice last week because of strong headwinds.
- That is no less than the third time Qantas has flown this southerly route this yr.
- Qantas’ 787 aircraft are certified for extended-range operations, allowing the planes to fly long distances without emergency landing areas.
Qantas flew a southern route between Santiago, Chile, and Sydney, Australia, passing over Antarctica twice last week because of wind patterns. The flight often crosses over the South Pacific, but pilots didn’t hesitate to travel further south, with strong headwinds impacting the conventional route.
That is no less than the third time the Australian airline has flown the southerly route this yr. The move shows how crucial winds are when planning flight paths to avoid longer durations.
Southern flight path
In accordance with data from Flightradar24.com, QF28 departed from Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL) in Santiago on Wednesday, September 14th, at around 15:00 local time. The aircraft VH-ZNC, a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, flew directly south along South America at an initial cruising altitude of 31,000 feet.
The plane climbed as much as 35,000 before crossing over the Pacific Ocean. Once reaching Antarctica, VH-ZNC was flying at 38,000 and flew over the northern tip of Antarctica for nearly an hour before crossing over the Pacific again, but northwest of the continent. Southwest of Latest Zealand, the aircraft climbed to 39,000 feet after which reached its final cruising altitude of 40,000 feet once over the Tasman Sea. VH-ZNC landed at Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport (SYD) on Thursday at around 18:00 AEST.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace I Easy Flying
The middle of Antarctica is outside of the ETOPS 330 range, in accordance with Flightradar24.com. Nevertheless, the flight tracking provider said that