Pilot with 22 years of experience reveals the place he would NEVER go near
It's not a lack of experience that had Richard Wells avoiding routes to Antarctica, it's the extreme weather conditions.
The 54-year-old retired long-haul pilot, from Kent, spent more than 22 years flying across Europe, Asia and the Americas and has experienced almost every kind of common flight problem, from turbulence to emergency landings.
In spite of this, Well draws the line at flying to Antarctica as there are too many risks involved.
According to travel guides at Wildfoot Travel, pilots face significant challenges and risks when flying to Antarctica, resulting in many commercial airlines avoiding the route entirely.
The primary reasons include a lack of infrastructure, such as airports and emergency landing sites, extreme weather of strong winds, freezing temperatures and low visibility, and the heightened risk of mechanical issues occurring.
These combined factors make any flight to Antarctica a high-risk journey, especially for passengers and crew on commercial flights.
Wells, who's clocked up over 10,000 flight hours over the years, noted his familiarity with 'mountainous regions, remote islands and tropical storms' but was quick to dismiss Earth's southernmost continent.
As reported by the Mirror, he said: 'Antarctica? That's different. Weather changes with no warning, there are no proper runways in most areas, and if something goes wrong - there's no backup. It's not worth the risk.'
He added: 'There's no margin for error. The infrastructure is minimal, and even experienced flight crews have limited options if conditions deteriorate mid-flight. That's not something I'd ever gamble with.'
While the continent is not a no-fly zone, there are are a limited number of specialised charter flights that operate within Antarctica - though frequent delays and cancellations are common due to little-to-no visibility, whiteouts and high winds.
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