What are a Boeing 787 and six stewardesses in miniskirts doing in the ice of Antarctica?
What were six stewardesses in pantsuits and skirts doing in the middle of the ice on Friday morning? They had just stepped off the jet immortalized at the [...]
Norse Atlantic Airways
OSL
What were six stewardesses in pantsuits and skirts doing in the middle of the ice on Friday morning? They had just stepped off the jet immortalized behind them, a Boeing 787-9 of the Norwegian low-cost Norse Atlantic Airways. A photomontage or special effect for a commercial? No, pure and simple reality.
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The Dreamliner had just landed (the first of that model to do so) in Antarctica, at Troll Airfield. It was 2:01 a.m. at the time of the historic landing on the ice runway (3,200 meters long and 60 meters wide) of the Antarctic airport, but the austral summer in those latitudes made it seem like broad daylight, with the sun high in the sky illuminating the arrival of the aircraft and the subsequent celebrations.
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The 787's journey had begun two and a half days earlier from Oslo Gardermoen Airport, which is the Norwegian company's main base, with a 12-hour flight to Cape Town. On board the 338-seat aircraft were 45 scientists and 12 tons of scientific and non-scientific materials destined for the Norwegian science station in Troll.
The 787 remained for 40 hours in Cape Town before making the final 5-hour journey to the ice continent. It landed at Troll Airfield, 7 kilometers from the Norwegian research station of the same name, the 787 made great use of engine thrust reversers, minimizing the use of the brake system acting on the aircraft's wheels, raising a spectacular cloud of snow.
After four hours, made the customary photos and unloading of the material carried in the hold, the plane took off again for South Africa and Norway.