China’s commercial flight makes first landing in Antarctica, new era of polar tourism

A Chinese commercial aircraft successfully landed in Antarctica on Saturday night, marking the country’s first flight to the world’s southernmost region.

Carrying 22 Chinese tourists, this airplane by the HNA Group, took off from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on Thursday and refueled in Cape Town, South Africa after a 15-hour flight. It traveled another 5.5 hours before landing on the continent. The passengers, after taking some rest, continued their journey aboard a DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft to the South Pole, which took another five to six hours.

A Chinese commercial aircraft successfully landed in Antarctica on Saturday night. /Photo via globaltimes.cn

China has become the second largest tourist source of Antarctica, only next to the US. However, “prior to the launch of the new flight, China had not developed any tourism resources, nor had it participated in any form of rule-making in Antarctic tourism,” said a senior executive of the HNA Group to the Global Times.

Chinese tourists who wished to travel to Antarctica before had to choose a cruise operated by foreign countries, as none of the boats or airplanes qualified for a polar tourism operation belongs to China.

China's first commercial flight to Antarctica successfully landed on Saturday; carrying 22 Chinese passengers, the flight departed from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region./NetEase Photo

This trip organized by the HNA Group had gone through a 10-year research, investigation and security tests, said the executive, adding that several other senior executives were also on this flight, representing the resolution of the Chinese corporation and social organization to break new ground for the country’s international tourism.

Wang Wen, executive dean of Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies affiliated to Renmin University of China, was stunned by the scenery of the southernmost region, saying it a destination one must go during the lifetime.

This flight will greatly promote Chinese people’s enthusiasm for the Antarctic tourism, which will further enhance their concerns over the Earth, including climate change and ecological conservation, said Wang. More importantly, promoting tourism there will significantly improve China’s involvement in the regional management, and enhance technological cooperation, environmental protection and compliance with relevant international laws. 

The number of Chinese tourists traveling to Antarctica has surged over the past decade, accounting for 12 percent of the total in 2016-2017 and is second only to the U.S, according to the statistics by the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators./NetEase Photo

The HNA Caissa Trave Group will provide the whole tour reception service, and it is expected to launch tourism products related to the South Pole next year.  

However, many insiders still believe that the flight is still at its exploration stage, according to Xinhua News Agency. Antarctica is a special zone. A flight from China will involve problems concerning international airspace and state territory, as it will pass through many countries. Secondly, the cost of the journey is so expensive that few tourists choose to fly to Antarctica. It still needs time to see whether consumers will accept and recognize tours to the isolated area. 

After a 15-hour flight and a transfer in Cape Town, South Africa, passengers took off for another 5.5-hour flight before landing at an airport in Antarctica./NetEase Photo

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Defense officials from Chile convened a meeting at the bottom of the planet on Thursday in a bid to bolster their territorial claims in Antarctica as tensions escalate over Russia's maneuvers in the polar region.

Lawmakers from Chile's parliamentary defense committee flew to a desolate air base for a meeting billed as an assertion of national sovereignty.

“We are going to be sitting in Antarctica in an act of sovereignty, of safeguarding and supporting our national integrity in the face of any threats," said committee member Camila Flores, singling out Russia as posing such a threat.

The lawmakers revealed little about their talks at the glacier-filled base beyond saying they addressed “the prevailing geopolitical conditions” on the white continent that has vast mineral resources, fresh water reserves and no government.

The meeting comes amid a recent frenzy of media reports surrounding Russia's purported discovery of massive oil reserves in Antarctica back in 2020, when the Russian polar research vessel Alexander Karpinsky reportedly uncovered some 500 billions of barrels worth of crude oil. The issue resurfaced earlier this month in a U.K. parliamentary session where experts warned Russia’s geological surveys could jeopardize the decades-long ban on mining in the region.

The reports rattled Chile and Argentina — among the seven countries that assert claims of sovereignty over parts of the demilitarized continent. Russia's surveys took place in the Weddell Sea, where Chile's territorial claims overlap with those of Britain and Argentina, according to documents presented to the British parliament.

“We are going to continue defending what we believe is fair,” said Francisco Undurraga, head of Chile's defense committee, condemning the “crafty aspirations" of nations rushing to assert greater influence over Antarctica in an increasingly energy-hungry world.

When reports of Russian resource-extraction projects surfaced earlier this month, Argentina demanded to know whether Russia had scientific or economic intentions. Chilean President Gabriel Boric promised to “firmly oppose any commercial exploitation of minerals and hydrocarbons.”

Historic tensions over Antarctic claims have also re-emerged between Boric's left-wing government and Argentina's far-right government.

In an effort to reshape Argentina's foreign policy in line with the United States, Argentine President Javier Milei last month announced the construction of a southern naval base with U.S. involvement to help Argentina stake claim to Antarctica, drawing complaints from Chile's foreign ministry.

Geopolitical competition is just the latest issue to test the 53-nation Antarctic Treaty, which in 1959 enshrined the territory as a scientific preserve used only for peaceful purposes.

Rising sea levels due to climate change, unregulated tourism and krill fishing in the Southern Ocean are just a few other challenges that the consensus-based system is struggling to address.

FILE - Gentoo penguins stand on rocks near the Chilean station Bernardo O'Higgins, Antarctica, Jan. 22, 2015. Members of Chile’s Defense Committee met on Thursday, May 23, 2024, in a special briefing in Antarctic to address “the prevailing geopolitical conditions”. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)