What happens if you fly a plane to Antarctica?

Planes can and do sometimes fly over Antarctica, it is not a no-fly zone and it is not illegal, it is just very impractical to do so. Smaller planes fly lower and have to deal with challenging weather conditions, snow-falls, white-outs and icing problems.



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The short answer is, no, it's not illegal to fly over Antarctica. But there are practical considerations that make it challenging for regular airlines to navigate across the land. In many parts of Antarctica, there's limited or no infrastructure, no landing strips, and obviously no refuelling stations for planes.

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1. Visit in the summer! It goes without saying that Antarctica is not a warm place – it contains 90% of the earth's ice. However, in the summer, you'll catch much milder weather, with temperatures around 0oC (32oF), although it may feel colder with wind chill.

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Unlike most traditional cruise lines, expedition cruises to Antarctica rarely charge any supplement fee for solo travellers. In fact, almost all expedition cruises offer solo travellers the chance to share with other solo travellers of the same sex in triple and quad cabins.

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In 1911, a Norwegian team led by explorer Roald Amundsen first reached the South Pole. Since then, there have been thousands of expeditions across the continent, for adventure as well as science. However, due to the challenging terrain and extreme temperatures, many areas of Antarctica have not yet been fully explored.

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Visitors to Antarctica don't stay in hotels; instead, they stay in a wide range of unique structures built to resist the icy weather, such as luxury adventure ships, temporary ice camps, eco-friendly resorts, and scientific research stations, and field camps.

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As no commercial flights operate to Antarctica itself, you would have to book with a private charter operator and prices for a flight expedition can reach in excess of $30,000. Budget at least $1000 – $1500 for flights, slightly more for European travellers.

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