LONDON – Hifly has today set a new milestone in aviation as it becomes the first operator in the world to operate and land an Airbus A340-300 down from Cape Town, South Africa into Antarctica. The flight was around 2,500 nautical miles, and just over five hours flight time each way. It is the first time an A340 has landed on an Antarctic blue glacial ice runway, and the aircraft will be used this season to fly a small number of tourists, alongside scientists and essential cargo to the White Continent.

HiFly said that there is no better aircraft to have used to set the amazing achievement and with its highly skilled crew and planning team they will now hold a special footnote in aviation history. The Turn around took less time than expected for the crew on the ground in Antarctica with the aircraft departing just under 3 hours after it landed, HiFly said that “the Flight Operations, Ground Operations, and Maintenance did an impeccable job. A true winning team!”