Polar route
A polar route is an
The Arctic
Early years
In August 1935, the Soviet aviator Sigizmund Levanevsky and his two crewmen attempted a transpolar flight from Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union to San Francisco, California. The flight was aborted because of technical issues before they reached the North Pole.[citation needed] In 1936, Levanevsky and navigator Victor Levchenko completed a more-than-19,000-kilometre (11,800 mi) multistage flight from Los Angeles to Moscow in a Vultee V-1A floatplane, thus proving the possibility of an air route between the United States and the Soviet Union via the Bering Strait.[citation needed]
Another Soviet pilot
In October 1946, a modified
The Cold War
Of the commercial airlines,
During the
In April 1967
During the Cold War,
The only airline that still flies this type of route between Europe and Anchorage is
United States
After the Cold War
Starting 1 May 1992, Aeroflot began regular flights between Moscow and San Francisco via Anchorage in both directions. These flights were operated by IL-62 aircraft which didn't have long enough range to fly nonstop between Moscow and San Francisco.[12] The Moscow-Anchorage and Anchorage-Moscow legs were, at the time, the scheduled passenger airline routes that came closest to the North Pole. Flights between Moscow and Los Angeles, also via Anchorage and operated by IL-62 aircraft, were added in 1994.[13] The Anchorage stop was eliminated later in May 1994 when the IL-62 was replaced on this route by the longer-range IL-96.[14]
Immediately after the Cold War, a number of direct southern routes had opened up between Europe and Asia over the Black Sea and southern former Soviet republics across Afghanistan, and by the mid-1990s, over China. In Russia's eastern and Arctic regions there were significant problems with lack of English-speaking controllers, lack of radio facilities, poor radar coverage, poor ATC capacity, and a lack of funds. To solve these issues, RACGAT (Russian-American Coordinating Group for Air Traffic) was formed in 1993. By summer 1998, the Russian government worked through these problems and gave permission to open four cross-polar routes, named Polar 1, 2, 3 and 4.[15] Additional routes were opened in subsequent years.
Cathay Pacific Flight 889 from New York John F. Kennedy International Airport, piloted by Captain Paul Horsting on 7 July 1998—the first arrival to the new Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok west of Hong Kong—appears to be the first non-stop flight over the Arctic polar region and over Russian airspace by a non-Russian airline. It was the world's first nonstop transpolar flight from New York to Hong Kong, dubbed Polar One. It took 16 hours to complete, and it was and still is one of the longest flights that Cathay Pacific operates.[16]
Current flight operations
The American Federal Aviation Administration now defines the North Polar area of operations as the area north of 78° north latitude,[17] which is north of Alaska and most of Siberia.
Aircraft like the
Arctic polar routes are now common on airlines connecting Asian cities to North American cities.
In 2022, the
Antarctica
Few airlines fly between cities having a great circle route over Antarctica. Hypothetically, flights between South Africa and New Zealand, or between either Western Australia or Western Southeast Asia and southern South America, would overfly Antarctica, but no airline currently operates such flights.
Flights between Australia and South America and between Australia and South Africa pass near the Antarctic coastline. Depending on the winds, the
The polar route across the remote southern Pacific Ocean between South America and Oceania was pioneered by
Previously, because of
The southernmost flight route with plausible airports would be between Buenos Aires and Perth.[42] With a 175° (S) heading, the route's great circle exceeds 85° S and would be within 500 kilometres (310 mi) of the South Pole. Currently, no commercial airline operates this 12,600-kilometre (7,800 mi; 6,800 nmi) route. However, in February, 2018, it was stated that Norwegian Air Argentina is considering this "less than 15 hours" trans-polar flight between South America and Southeast Asia, with a stop-over in Perth en route to Singapore.[43] They will not fly over the South Pole, but around Antarctica taking advantage of the strong winds which circle that continent in an easterly direction. Hence, the "westbound" flight from Buenos Aires would actually travel south-east south of Cape Town, over the southern Indian Ocean and on to Perth, while the true "eastbound" flight would also head south-east south of Tasmania and New Zealand, over the South Pacific and on to South America. If this route becomes operational, a Buenos Aires – Singapore return flight would possibly be the fastest circumnavigation available with commercial airliners, although Perth – Buenos Aires return would be faster but without passing the Equator.[citation needed]
Operational considerations
The FAA's policy letter Guidance for Polar Operations (March 5, 2001) outlines a number of special requirements for polar flight, which includes two cold-weather suits, special communication capability, designation of Arctic diversion airports and firm recovery plans for stranded passengers, and fuel freeze strategy and monitoring requirements.[17]
Jet fuel freeze temperatures range between −40 and −50 °C (−40 and −58 °F). These temperatures are frequently encountered at cruise altitude throughout the world with no effect since the fuel retains heat from lower elevations, but the intense cold and extended duration of polar flights may cause fuel temperature to approach its freezing point. Jet A grade with a maximum freeze point of −40 °C (−40 °F) is used in the U.S., while Jet A1 grade with a maximum freeze point of −47 °C (−53 °F) is used elsewhere.[44] Modern long-distance airliners are equipped to alert flight crew when fuel temperatures reach 3 °C (5.4 °F) above these levels. The crew must then change altitude, though in some cases due to the low stratosphere over polar regions and its inversion properties the air may actually be somewhat warmer at higher altitudes.[17]
The alerts are typically set at 3 °C (5.4 °F) above the specified maximum freeze point. This provides a 3 °C (5.4 °F) safety margin from the solidification temperature. However, fuels produced at the refineries are often better than the spec values; for example, it is not uncommon to find Jet A fuels that have measured freeze point better (colder) than the specified maximum of −40 °C (−40 °F). In that way, the safety margin is even larger than 3 °C (5.4 °F). On the other hand, the temperature probe that delivers fuel temperature information to the flight deck is not located in the coldest part of the fuel tanks. The difference between the recorded and the coldest fuel temperature varies depending on a variety of factors, especially the circulation of fuel in the tanks and duration of cold soak. It is, therefore, prudent to have a safety margin.[citation needed]
For polar flights, FAA allows,[45] under certain conditions, the measured freeze point be used instead of assuming the spec value in ASTM D1655. This gives the airlines more flexibility in flight planning.
See also
References
- ^ For instance, Aviation Week 22 July 1957 p47 reports on "polar routes" from California to Europe granted to Pan Am and TWA.
- ISBN 978-0-19-535420-1.
- ^ "Inside The Dreamboat." Popular Science, December 1946 interview with crew about planning for flight.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-08-21. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "To Tokyo with a DC-7 over the North Pole". KLM Blog. 23 November 2014.
- ^ http://www.departedflights.com, July 1, 1983 Worldwide Official Airline Guide (OAG), Tokyo-Anchorage flight schedules
- ^ http://www.departedflights.com, March 1, 1981 Western Airlines system timetable
- ^ "StackPath (12 August 2020)". www.aviationpros.com (Press release). Retrieved 21 August 2020.
- ^ http://www.departedflights.com, July 1, 1983 Worldwide Official Airline Guide (OAG), Tokyo-Helsinki flight schedules
- ^ Huhtanen, Ann-Mari (7 September 2014). "Perhana, se tulee suoraan kohti. Jouluna 1987 Finnairin lento AY 915 oli matkalla Tokiosta Helsinkiin, kun Huippuvuorten kohdalla konetta lähestyi ohjus" [‘Damn it, it's coming straight at us. At Christmas, 1987, Finnair flight AY 915 was en route from Tokyo to Helsinki, when a missile approached it over Svalbard’]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Sanoma: C 6–8. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-09-21.
- ^ Russian military planes approach Alaska for 4th straight night, Anchorage Daily News, Published April 21, 2017.
- ^ Aeroflot Worldwide Timetable, 29 March - 24 October 92. Aeroflot Soviet Airlines.
- ^ "Aeroflot offers LA/Moscow flights". UPI. 17 May 1994.
- ^ "Aeroflot History 1990-1999". Aeroflot Russian Airlines. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
- ^ Over the Top: Flying the Polar Routes. Avionics Magazine, April 1, 2002. Retrieved 3-07-12. [1]
- ^ "Cathay Pacific's non-stop New York flight 'strengthens Hong Kong's hub'" (Press release). Cathay Pacific. 11 June 2004. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 5 July 2009.
- ^ a b c "Aero 16 - Polar Route Operations". Arlington, VA: Boeing.
- ^ Study Finds Air Route Over North Pole Feasible for Flights to Asia, Matthew L. Wald, New York Times, 10-22-2000. Article retrieved 03-12-09. [2]
- ^ "Flightaware website".
- ^ "QR737 (QTR737) Qatar Airways Flight Tracking and History". FlightAware. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
- ^ "Schedule search". Air India. Tata Group. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
- ^ "Air India becomes first Indian airline to fly over North Pole". The Times of India. Mumbai. Retrieved 2019-08-16.
- ^ "Ukraine-Russia invasion: Russia launches attack on Ukraine from several fronts". BBC News. Archived from the original on 21 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
- ^ "Russia-Ukraine: Biden closes US airspace to Russian flights". Al Jazeera. 2 March 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
- ^ "EU closes airspace to Russian planes, bans pro-Kremlin media outlets and pledges arms to Ukraine". CBS News. Associated Press. 27 February 2022. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
- ^ Cox, John (1 March 2022). "How will Russia-Ukraine conflict affect air travel? Longer flights, higher fuel costs, fewer planes". USA Today. Gannett.
- ^ Rains, Taylor (12 March 2022). "Creative routings to avoid Russian and EU airspace closures are adding up to 4 hours of extra flight time on some plane journeys across the globe". Business Insider. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
- ^ Petchenik, Ian (2022-03-10). "Russian roundabout: how flights are avoiding Russian airspace". Flightradar24 Blog. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
- ^ Calder, Simon (7 March 2022). "Polar Route to Japan is Back as Japan Airlines Avoids Russian Airspace". The Independent. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
- ^ "Polar route to Japan is back as Japan Airlines avoids Russian airspace". The Independent. 2022-03-07. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
- ^ Cherney, Mike; Katz, Benjamin; Cameron, Doug (2 March 2022). "Airlines Scramble for Routes Around Russia as Flight Bans Intensify". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Passy, Jacob (4 March 2022). "Russia's war in Ukraine has closed airspace — and disrupted air-cargo transportation". MarketWatch.
- ^ Aerolíneas Argentinas unirá Buenos Aires-Sydney sin escalas
- ^ "Flightaware website".
- ^ https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/ar/ar89/ar8901-2.jpg
- ^ Freed, Jamie (1 October 2014). "Virgin Australia brings back direct flights to Johannesburg through South African Airways codeshare". The Border Mail. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
- ^ Carey, Bill (2 December 2015). "Air New Zealand 777 Makes First 330-Minute ETOPS Flight". AINonline. The Convention News Company, Inc. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
- ^ Leaman, Aaron (31 July 2016). "Flight test: Auckland to Santiago on LATAM's Boeing 787-9". Stuff. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
- ^ Clark, Peter (22 April 2015). "PICTURE: LAN avails of 787 ETOPS certification". Flight Global. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
- ^ "LATAM to serve Melbourne-Santiago nonstop from October 2017". Australian Aviation. 5 December 2016. Archived from the original on 21 March 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
- ^ Flynn, David (5 December 2016). "LATAM to fly Melbourne-Santiago from October 2017". Australian Business Traveller. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
- ^ "Great Circle Mapper: EZE-PER". Great Circle Mapper.
- ^ "World-first South American flight to boost WA tourism". The West Australian. 25 February 2018.
- ^ [ASTM specification D1655]
- ^ Federal Aviation Administration, US Department of Transportation (June 13, 2008), Extended Operations (ETOPS and Polar Operations) (PDF), AC 120-42B, archived from the original (PDF) on June 16, 2013
External links
- RACGAT website – archived in 2003
- Flightradar24 blog page – Why you flew over Greenland