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Smartwings made history by landing with a Boeing 737 MAX for the first time in Antarctica on the runway at Troll Airfield.
The landing was at Troll Airfield at the north end of the antarctica took place on 26 of January of 2022 and it was the first time a 737 MAX reaches the white continent. The flight was chartered by Aircontact to take members of the Norwegian Polar Institute to their base.. The Troll Research Station located 235 kilometers from the coast in the eastern part of the Costa Princesa Martha, in Queen Maud Land, antarctica. The track is built on a glacier at an altitude of 1232 meters.
The flight beyond the South Arctic Circle went smoothly. The Boeing 737 MAX de Smartwings (registro OK-SWB) took off from Oslo, Norway, bound for Cape Town, South Africa (with stopover in N'Djamena, Chad). From Cape Town, the plane continued to Antarctica. The flight lasted 6 hours and the plane remained in Antarctica for 2 hours, before leaving again for Oslo via Cape Town.
The crew of the Smartwings aircraft received continuous weather reports and updates on the operation of the airport during the flight through data link and satellite telephone communication. the track of 3.000 m long ice cover is used for landing and take off. The thickness of the ice was measured and analyzed to support the operation. The surface was specifically prepared and the braking action measured by the Norwegian Polar Institute prior to operation to allow take-off and landing in accordance with regulations and standards of Boeing maintaining all safety margins.
Landing on a glacier requires a specially trained crew consisting of 3 experienced captains: Tomas Nevola, Jan Šťastný and Lubomír Malík.
“It is necessary to thoroughly prepare for such a flight. Preparations took many months., and the flight and landing went smoothly”, said the captain and flight director of Smartwings, Tomas Nevola.
The captains had to undergo special training to become familiar with the area and the runway.. All crew members underwent Arctic survival training. The aircraft was equipped with survival kits that included fleece clothing for the crew and, what's more, some critical spare parts were carried on board.
The weather was closely monitored five days before the operation using the forecast of the German meteorological institutes DWD and AWI with resources in Antarctica.. For this type of operations, the company's air traffic control assigned at least one dispatcher who constantly monitored and assessed runway conditions and weather, and kept in contact with the crew in case of any changes. During flight, the technical department of Smartwings in Prague assessed the technical condition of the aircraft through an automated satellite data link.
It is not possible to plan any alternative airport instead of Troll Airfield, that has all the necessary equipment, included, among others: proper firefighting services, bespoke approach charts and experienced staff responsible for Troll Airfield led by Sven Lidström of Norwegian Polar Institute. Due to the fact that it is a so-called isolated airport, where no other landing options are within reach, it was necessary to obtain evaluation and approval from the Czech Aviation Authority for Troll as an “Isolated Aerodrome”.
Smartwings Group aircraft fly at more than 400 airports worldwide per year. Until before this flight, Antarctica had been the only continent where a plane had not yet landed. Smartwings.
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Without a doubt an incredible flight, had a lot of preparation and dedication, demonstrates the ability of the pilots and the 737 MAX who is certainly ready to return to the top. Good post
And also that the MAX returned to the skies without problems.