Wikipedia

Polar route

Apolar routeis anaircraft routeacross the uninhabited polar ice cap regions. The term "polar route" was originally applied togreat circle navigationroutes betweenEuropeand the west coast ofNorth Americain the 1950s.[1]

The Arctic

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Early years

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In August 1935, theSovietaviatorSigizmund Levanevskyand his two crewmen attempted a transpolar flight fromMoscow,Russian SFSR,Soviet UniontoSan 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 fromLos Angelesto Moscow in aVultee V-1Afloatplane, thus proving the possibility of an air route between the United States and the Soviet Union via theBering Strait.[citation needed]

Another Soviet pilotValery Chkalovand his crew were the first to fly non-stop from Europe to the American Pacific Coast.Their flight[ru]from Moscow toVancouver, Washington,United States,via theNorth Poleon aTupolev ANT-25single-engine plane (June 18–20, 1937) took 63 hours to complete. The distance covered was 8,811 kilometres (5,475 mi).[2]The following month, another Soviet crew led byMikhail Gromovretraced the transpolar route[ru],extending the distance to the world record-breaking 10,148 kilometers (6,302 miles), landing nearSan Jacinto,California, in theUnited States.[citation needed]In August of the same year, another Soviet crew led by Sigizmund Levanevsky started itslong distance transpolar flightfrom Moscow toFairbanks,Alaska;the radio communication with the aircraft broke off beyond the North Pole, and all subsequent search missions failed.[citation needed]

In October 1946, a modifiedB-29flew 15,163 kilometres (9,422 mi) nonstop fromOahu, Hawaii,toCairo, Egypt,in less than 40 hours, further proving the capability of routing airlines over the polar icecap.[3]

The Cold War

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Leif Viking(LN-LMP) fromSASwas the first airplane to use the polar route for regular flights. HereLeif Vikingbecomes christened byCyd Charisseon 18 November 1954.

Of the commercial airlines,SASwas first: theirDouglas DC-6Bflights betweenLos AngelesandCopenhagen,viaKangerlussuaqandWinnipeg,started on November 15, 1954.[4]Canadian PacificDC-6BsstartedVancouver–Amsterdamin 1955, thenPan AmandTWAstartedWest CoasttoParis/Londonin 1957. SAS was first again, flying Europe toTokyoviaAnchoragewithDouglas DC-7Csin February 1957;Air FranceLockheed L-1649 Starliner(which was the final version of theLockheed Constellation) andKLMDC-7Caircraft followed in 1958.[5]Air France was the first to operate commercial jet service over the North Pole on the routing Tokyo – Anchorage – Hamburg – Paris on 18 February 1960 using Boeing 707-328 Intercontinental equipment.

During theCold War,the Arctic region was a buffer zone between theSoviet Unionand North America. Civilian flights from Europe to the AsianFar Eastwere prohibited from crossing theEastern Bloccountries, Soviet Union orChina[citation needed],and had to fly either via theMiddle Eastor across Arctic North America and Greenland with a refueling stop in Anchorage. These Cold War tracks extended from the northern Alaskan coast acrossGreenlandto Europe. In 1978,Korean Air Lines Flight 902operated with aBoeing 707was shot down over the USSR by aSoviet Air Forcefighter aircraft after the flight crew made gross navigational errors attempting to fly the assigned polar route.[citation needed]

In April 1967Japan Air Lines(JAL) began an experimental service between Tokyo and Europe via Moscow across Siberia. This service used anAeroflotTupolev Tu-114,with one JAL flight crew and mixed JAL and Aeroflot cabin crew. However, Japan Air Lines dropped the service in 1969.[citation needed]

During the Cold War,Anchorage International Airport(ANC) inAlaskawas a technical stop for a number of airlines flying the polar route between westernEuropeandTokyo.According to the July 1, 1983 edition of the WorldwideOfficial Airline Guide(OAG),Air France,British Airways,Japan Air Lines(JAL),KLM Royal Dutch Airlines,Lufthansa,SabenaandScandinavian Airlines(SAS) were all operating flights betweenJapanand western Europe which included a stop in Anchorage.[6]Most of these international airlines were operating earlier modelBoeing 747aircraft on the route at this time, although Sabena and SAS were instead operatingMcDonnell Douglas DC-10-30aircraft on their respective polar route services via Anchorage. U.S. based air carrierWestern Airlinesalso flew a polar route during the early 1980s betweenLondon Gatwick AirportandHonoluluusing DC-10-30 aircraft, with these flights also making a stop in Anchorage.[7]

The only airline that still flies this type of route between Europe and Anchorage isCondor Airlines,seasonal service betweenFrankfurt (EDDF)and Anchorage.[8]This will soon be joined by a flight byEurowings,also from Frankfurt, using anAirbus A330.[needs update]

Finnairwas the first airline to fly non-stop via the polar route without a technical stop. This service began in 1983 and was flown with aMcDonnell Douglas DC-10-30ER wide body jetliner between Tokyo andHelsinki.[9][10]

United StatesBoeing B-52aircraft operated in the Arctic Ocean region almost continuously in the 1960s as part ofOperation Chrome Domeand in later decades as part of readiness exercises. A number of Western reconnaissance aircraft also conducted missions regularly along the Soviet Union's northern coast. RussianLong-Range Aviationnow perform some of the same types of training flights, testing the readiness ofAlaskan CommandandRoyal Canadian Air Forceinterceptors.[11]

After the Cold War

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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 ofEnglish-speakingcontrollers, 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 PacificFlight 889 fromNew York John F. Kennedy International Airport,piloted by Captain Paul Horsting on 7 July 1998—the first arrival to the newHong Kong International Airportat Chek Lap Kok west of Hong Kong—appears to be the first non-stop flight over the Arctic polar region and overRussianairspace by a non-Russian airline. It was the world's firstnonstoptranspolar flight from New York to Hong Kong, dubbedPolar 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

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The AmericanFederal Aviation Administrationnow defines the North Polar area of operations as the area north of 78° north latitude,[17]which is north ofAlaskaand most of Siberia.

Aircraft like theBoeing 747-400,747-8,777-200ER,777-200LR,777-300ER,777X,787-8,787-9,and787-10,as well as certain variants of theAirbus A330,A340,A350,andA380,with ranges of around 13,000 kilometres (8,100 mi; 7,000 nmi) or more, are required in order to travel the long distances nonstop between suitable airports.[18]

Arctic polar routes are now common on airlines connecting Asian cities to North American cities.EmiratesandQatar Airwaysfly nonstop fromDubaiandDohato the US West Coast (San Francisco,Seattle,andLos Angeles), coming within a few degrees of latitude of the North Pole.[19][20]

In 2022, theRussian invasion of Ukrainehas led countries such as the UK[21]and the US,[22]as well as the entire EU,[23]to ban Russian airlines from entering their airspace; these countries received reciprocal bans from operating in Russian airspace. This has led airlines to avoid Russian airspace when flying to certain destinations, including Eastern Asian cities from the US and Europe and vice versa.[24][25]One instance includesJapan Airlines,whoseHeathrow Airport-Haneda Airportroute now flies over theOuter HebridesofScotland,Iceland,Greenland,Canada,theArctic Ocean,andAlaska,crossing theInternational Date Linein the process.[26](An alternative route from London to Tokyo flies south of Russia and overTurkey,Central Asia,MongoliaandChina).[27]While this route uses a Boeing 777, which can cover the route without refuelling, its flight time increased by an additional four hours because of the longer new route.[28]The airspace bans also forced cargo airlines to change their course, with some changing their polar routes.[29][30]

Antarctica

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Few airlines fly between cities having a great circle route over Antarctica. Hypothetically, flights betweenSouth AfricaandNew Zealand,or between either Western Australia or WesternSoutheast Asiaand southernSouth 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, theQantasflight QFA63 fromSydneytoJohannesburg – O. R. Tambo,or the return flight QFA64, sometimes flies over the Antarctic Circle to 71° latitude as well and allowing views of the ice sheet.[better source needed]QantasQFA27 and QFA28 andLATAMLA809 and LA810 fly nonstop betweenSydneyandSantiago de Chile,the most southerly polar route. Depending on winds, this flight may reach 70° south latitude. From July 2012[31]until 2014,Aerolíneas Argentinasflew nonstop betweenSydneyandBuenos Aires.[32][better source needed]Previously, Qantas also operated QFA17 and QFA18 between Sydney and Buenos Aires. Nowadays,LATAMoperates LAN804 and LAN805 between Melbourne, Australia, and Santiago, Chile, andAir New Zealand,until 2020, operated ANZ30 and ANZ31 between Auckland and Buenos Aires all with similarly south-running routes.[citation needed]

The polar route across the remote southern Pacific Ocean between South America and Oceania was pioneered byLAN Chile(nowLATAM), with a special flight from Santiago to Sydney operated with aBoeing 707in 1974, with a stop in Punta Arenas (Chile). Commercial flights began withAerolíneas Argentinas,with service from Buenos Aires via Rio Gallegos to Auckland in the 1980s flown with aBoeing 747-200aircraft. Aerolíneas Argentinas later extended its service to Sydney via Auckland and Rio Gallegos with return flights to Buenos Aires not making a stop in Rio Gallegos,[33]but then ended its flights to New Zealand and Australia in 2014.

Previously, because ofETOPSlimitations on twin-engined aircraft — the maximum distance the aircraft can operate from an airport for emergency landings — only four-engined aircraft such as theBoeing 747,Airbus A340,andAirbus A380could operate routes near Antarctica. Twin-engined aircraft had to fly further north, closer to potential diversion airports; for example, whenVirgin Australiaoperated their VA 15 and VA 16 flights between Melbourne and Johannesburg on twin-engined Boeing 777 aircraft with a 180-minute ETOPS rating, the flight was two hours longer than a Qantas flight from Sydney to Johannesburg.[34]In 2015, government regulators approvedAir New Zealand's twin-engined Boeing 777-200ER aircraft for a 330-minute ETOPS rating (i.e. its 777 aircraft can fly a maximum 330 minutes away from the nearest diversion airport), an increase from its previous 240-minute ETOPS rating, to operate their new route betweenAucklandandBuenos Aires-Ezeizawhich ended in 2020.[35]LATAM Airlinesbegan their LAN800 and LAN801 nonstop flights betweenSantiago de ChileandSydneyviaAucklandin April 2015 with twin-engined Boeing 787 aircraft with a 330-minute ETOPS rating.[36][37]LATAM has announced a nonstop flight between Santiago de Chile and Melbourne (LAN804/LAN805) to begin in October 2017.[38][39]In late 2019, LATAM began direct flights between Santiago and Sydney (LA802/LAN803) competing with the existing Qantas (QFA27/QFA28) flights on the same route.

The southernmost flight route with plausible airports would be betweenBuenos AiresandPerth.[40]With a 175° (S)heading,the route'sgreat circleexceeds 85° S and would be within 500 kilometres (310 mi) of theSouth Pole.Currently, no commercial airline operates this 12,600-kilometre (7,800 mi; 6,800 nmi) route. However, in February 2018, it was stated thatNorwegian Air Argentinais considering this "less than 15 hours" trans-polar flight betweenSouth AmericaandSoutheast Asia,with a stop-over in Perth en route toSingapore.[41]They will not fly over theSouth Pole,but aroundAntarcticataking 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 ofCape Town,over the southernIndian Oceanand on to Perth, while the true "eastbound" flight would also head south-east south ofTasmaniaandNew Zealand,over theSouth Pacificand on to South America. If this route becomes operational, a Buenos Aires – Singapore return flight would possibly be the fastestcircumnavigationavailable with commercial airliners, although Perth – Buenos Aires return would be faster but without passing theEquator.[citation needed]

Operational considerations

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The FAA's policy letterGuidance 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 Arcticdiversion airportsand firm recovery plans for stranded passengers, and fuel freeze strategy and monitoring requirements.[17]

Jet fuelfreeze 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.[42]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 lowstratosphereover 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,[43]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

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References

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  1. ^For instance, Aviation Week 22 July 1957 p47 reports on "polar routes" from California to Europe granted to Pan Am and TWA.
  2. ^McCannon, John (1998).Red Arctic: Polar Exploration and the Myth of the North in the Soviet Union, 1932–1939.New York: Oxford University Press. p. 71.ISBN978-0-19-535420-1.
  3. ^"Inside The Dreamboat."Popular Science,December 1946 interview with crew about planning for flight.
  4. ^"Archived copy".Archived fromthe originalon 2017-08-21.Retrieved2015-03-05.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^Ogier, Frido (23 November 2014)."To Tokyo with a DC-7 over the North Pole".KLM Blog.
  6. ^http://www.departedflights.com,July 1, 1983 Worldwide Official Airline Guide (OAG), Tokyo-Anchorage flight schedules
  7. ^http://www.departedflights.com,March 1, 1981 Western Airlines system timetable
  8. ^"StackPath (12 August 2020)".www.aviationpros.com(Press release).Retrieved21 August2020.
  9. ^http://www.departedflights.com,July 1, 1983 Worldwide Official Airline Guide (OAG), Tokyo-Helsinki flight schedules
  10. ^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 fromthe originalon 2016-03-04.Retrieved2014-09-21.
  11. ^Russian military planes approach Alaska for 4th straight night,Anchorage Daily News, Published April 21, 2017.
  12. ^Aeroflot Worldwide Timetable, 29 March - 24 October 92.Aeroflot Soviet Airlines.
  13. ^"Aeroflot offers LA/Moscow flights".UPI.17 May 1994.
  14. ^"Aeroflot History 1990-1999".Aeroflot Russian Airlines.Retrieved18 December2023.
  15. ^Over the Top: Flying the Polar Routes.Avionics Magazine, April 1, 2002. Retrieved 3-07-12.[1]Archived2016-03-04 at theWayback Machine
  16. ^"Cathay Pacific's non-stop New York flight 'strengthens Hong Kong's hub'"(Press release). Cathay Pacific. 11 June 2004. Archived fromthe originalon 27 September 2011.Retrieved5 July2009.
  17. ^abc"Aero 16 - Polar Route Operations".Arlington, VA: Boeing.
  18. ^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]
  19. ^"Flightaware website".
  20. ^"QR737 (QTR737) Qatar Airways Flight Tracking and History".FlightAware.Retrieved2022-03-12.
  21. ^"Ukraine-Russia invasion: Russia launches attack on Ukraine from several fronts".BBC News.BBC News.Archivedfrom the original on 21 February 2022.Retrieved24 February2022.
  22. ^"Russia-Ukraine: Biden closes US airspace to Russian flights".Al Jazeera.2 March 2022.Retrieved7 March2022.
  23. ^"EU closes airspace to Russian planes, bans pro-Kremlin media outlets and pledges arms to Ukraine".CBS News.Associated Press.27 February 2022.Archivedfrom the original on 5 March 2022.Retrieved7 March2022.
  24. ^Cox, John (1 March 2022)."How will Russia-Ukraine conflict affect air travel? Longer flights, higher fuel costs, fewer planes".USA Today.Gannett.
  25. ^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.Retrieved12 March2022.[permanent dead link‍]
  26. ^"Polar route to Japan is back as Japan Airlines avoids Russian airspace".The Independent.2022-03-07.Retrieved2024-08-19.
  27. ^Petchenik, Ian (2022-03-10)."Russian roundabout: how flights are avoiding Russian airspace".Flightradar24 Blog.Retrieved2024-04-02.
  28. ^Calder, Simon (7 March 2022)."Polar Route to Japan is Back as Japan Airlines Avoids Russian Airspace".The Independent.Retrieved12 March2022.
  29. ^Cherney, Mike; Katz, Benjamin; Cameron, Doug (2 March 2022)."Airlines Scramble for Routes Around Russia as Flight Bans Intensify".The Wall Street Journal.
  30. ^Passy, Jacob (4 March 2022)."Russia's war in Ukraine has closed airspace — and disrupted air-cargo transportation".MarketWatch.
  31. ^Aerolíneas Argentinas unirá Buenos Aires-Sydney sin escalas
  32. ^"Flightaware website".
  33. ^https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/ar/ar89/ar8901-2.jpg[bare URL image file]
  34. ^Freed, Jamie (1 October 2014)."Virgin Australia brings back direct flights to Johannesburg through South African Airways codeshare".The Border Mail.Retrieved21 March2017.
  35. ^Carey, Bill (2 December 2015)."Air New Zealand 777 Makes First 330-Minute ETOPS Flight".AINonline.The Convention News Company, Inc.Retrieved21 March2017.
  36. ^Leaman, Aaron (31 July 2016)."Flight test: Auckland to Santiago on LATAM's Boeing 787-9".Stuff.Retrieved21 March2017.
  37. ^Clark, Peter (22 April 2015)."PICTURE: LAN avails of 787 ETOPS certification".Flight Global.Retrieved21 March2017.
  38. ^"LATAM to serve Melbourne-Santiago nonstop from October 2017".Australian Aviation.5 December 2016. Archived fromthe originalon 21 March 2017.Retrieved21 March2017.
  39. ^Flynn, David (5 December 2016)."LATAM to fly Melbourne-Santiago from October 2017".Australian Business Traveller.Retrieved21 March2017.
  40. ^"Great Circle Mapper: EZE-PER".Great Circle Mapper.
  41. ^"World-first South American flight to boost WA tourism".The West Australian.25 February 2018.
  42. ^[ASTM specification D1655]
  43. ^Federal Aviation Administration, US Department of Transportation (June 13, 2008),Extended Operations (ETOPS and Polar Operations)(PDF),AC 120-42B, archived fromthe original(PDF)on June 16, 2013
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