Flight paths over Antarctica – do flights pass the South Pole?

Many flights pass the North Pole, but are there any operators that fly past the South Pole or nearby? Learn all about flights in the Antarctic region here.

Polar routes are flight paths crossing either of the uninhabited polar regions, and are quite common when it comes to the North Pole – for example when flying from Asia to North America. These routes follow close to a great circle, which is the shortest distance to be found on a sphere (as the Earth).

In the case of the South Pole the situation is very different for a number of reasons. The most obvious reason is that this is not the shortest path to choose in any commercial flight connection. The Earth is way more populated in the northern half, and the inhabited areas are also a lot closer to the pole than in the south. Flight paths are mapped out to be as efficient as possible to save both time and fuel, and routes passing the South Pole simply don't meet that requirement.

Another reason for not choosing to fly past this area is that there are very few airports in the Antarctic region that can be used for emergency landings. The weather is also harsh and unpredictable, making the flight conditions even worse. In addition, the remoteness of the area means that there are limited communication and navigation possibilities.

Flight paths close to Antarctica

Even if routine commercial flights over the South Pole are very uncommon, there are some airlines that offer routes fairly closeby. These are routes that connect Oceania to either South America or South Africa.

south pole route johannesburg sydney — The route between Johannesburg and Sydney takes a southern path, making it one of the commercial routes that are the closest to the South Pole.

The Australian airline Qantas offers direct connections between Sydney and Santiago in Chile. This route takes a southern turn giving it a flight path that is pretty close to the Antarctic region. An additional option in the area provided by Qantas is the connection between Sydney and Johannesburg in South Africa.

Another major operator that offers this kind of connection is the Chilean airline LATAM Airlines. Their flight paths that are the closest to Antarctica are the ones connecting Santiago to Melbourne in Australia or Santiago to Auckland in New Zealand.