A commercial pilot has revealed one destination he steered clear of, despite having over two decades of flying experience under his belt. 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 spent his career 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 that, Wells draws the line at flying to Antarctica because of a lack of airports and emergency landing sites, strong winds, freezing temperatures, low visibility, and the heightened risk of mechanical issues occurring. “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 it,” said Wells. While Antarctica isn’t a no-fly zone, there are a limited number of specialized charter flights that operate within the continent. Frequent delays and cancellations are common due to visibility issues and high winds. Most travel to the region is by ship, which normally takes a full two days.
