Government controlled Air New Zealand’s has formally abandoned the South American Polar Route pioneered by Argentina’s Aerolineas Argentinas in 2012

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Government-owned Air New Zealand is clear on where it wants to fly – and where it doesn’t – as it rebuilds its broken international network. It does not want to fly to South America anymore. Auckland Airport shareholders which are programmed to spend billions making Auckland Airport the hub between Asia and South America will be disappointed to hear this I am sure.

It looks like Australias Sydney Airport will take up this role as New Zealand has become a shunned destination for business and personal travel due to its continued extreme response to covid and its anti-business stance.

The History of the Polar Route

Aerolineas Argentinas has a rich history and it was the first airline to start Southern “Polar” flight operations between South America and Oceania in the 1980s. Those days they flew the B747-200 from Buenos Aires via Rio Gallegos to Auckland and it was extended to Sydney in the early 1990s. The flight path is one of the MOST ISOLATED ocean crossings in the world with only 2 alternative points in Antarctica for an emergency.

In the 2000s, I saw them bringing in the newer A340-200 on the same route 3 times a week.  My wife, family and friends have flown Aerolineas between New Zealand and South America in 2003 regularly over the years and enjoyed their services which later was taken over by Air New Zealand as a codeshare.

The rumour is that Latam Airlines might fill this void in the future due to the strong business and social ties between Australia and South America

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