Hi Fly has achieved an important operational milestone with the successful landing of an Airbus A330 in Antarctica, expanding the range of aircraft capable of performing the airline’s polar missions. The landing took place on 1 December on the blue-ice Wolf’s Fang Runway as part of the seasonal flights operated in partnership with White Desert Antarctica.
The Airbus A330-302, registered 9H-HFI and powered by General Electric engines, arrived from Cape Town shortly before midnight. The flight was commanded by Captain Carlos Mirpuri, with the company’s CEO, Captain Antonios Efthymiou, also on board due to the significance of introducing a new aircraft type into Antarctic operations.
Compared with the A340 that Hi Fly had used for previous Antarctic missions, the A330 offers similar performance with lower operating costs and reduced fuel consumption. The landing of twin-engine widebody aircraft at Wolf’s Fang has been made possible by the gradual enhancement of ground support equipment at the site, now allowing for more flexible planning of seasonal flights.
The arrival of the A330 marks a continuation of Hi Fly’s activities launched in 2021, when the airline performed the first-ever landing of an Airbus A340 in Antarctica. The new type increases operational capabilities during the season and enables better optimisation of available resources in the continent’s demanding meteorological conditions.
Captain Mirpuri emphasised that every flight to Antarctica is prepared with special attention: “Flights to Antarctica are never routine – they require detailed preparation, precision and constant adaptation to the conditions.” He added that the A330 proved stable and reliable throughout the operation: “The aircraft responded very well to all the demands of the flight profile and the conditions on the runway.”
The aircraft landed on Wolf’s Fang Runway, one of Antarctica’s best-known airstrips, located in Queen Maud Land. The runway sits on a natural blue-ice plateau that provides an exceptionally firm surface but also demands precise operations due to a reduced friction coefficient and high sensitivity to temperature. The strip is approximately 3,000 metres long, enabling operations of wide-body aircraft, but its constraints include the absence of standard navigation systems, strong crosswind patterns and strictly planned schedules dictated by polar daylight conditions. Wolf’s Fang regularly receives specialised charter and logistics flights, most notably Hi Fly’s Airbus A340 and the newly introduced A330, while research teams and cargo transfers are supported by smaller turboprops such as the Basler BT-67 (a modified DC-3), the DHC-6 Twin Otter, and Lockheed L-100/Hercules variants operated by other Antarctic providers. The runway is maintained with dedicated machinery used to grind and level the ice, and operations are possible only during the southern hemisphere summer when temperature, visibility, and ice-surface characteristics meet stringent safety requirements.
Hi Fly continues to provide wet-lease and charter services worldwide, with special missions – including Antarctic operations – remaining a segment in which the company is steadily expanding its expertise and capabilities. The introduction of the A330 into these operations represents another step in tailoring the fleet to the specific needs of its clients and the demands of one of the world’s most challenging destinations.
