US Air Force flight to Antarctica turns back after space activity warning
A United States Air Force transport aircraft heading toward the Antarctic continent made an unplanned return to Christchurch, New Zealand, after New Zealand
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Antarctic-bound US military jet diverts after Russian space-activity alert
Qwenews.com – A United States Air Force transport aircraft heading toward the Antarctic continent made an unplanned return to Christchurch, New Zealand, after New Zealand regulators flagged a space-related hazard in the airspace ahead. The diversion was confirmed by New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which said it had issued a formal air-traffic notice — a NOTAM, or Notice to Airmen — alerting pilots to the risk.
What triggered the turn-back
Russia’s State Air Traffic Management Corporation informed the New Zealand agency of a planned missile launch and its “associated potential hazard to international airspace, within New Zealand’s Oceanic Flight Information Region (FIR),” according to a CAA statement released Wednesday. That FIR spans roughly 30 million square kilometres, making it one of the broadest designated airspaces on Earth, covering stretches of the Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea where New Zealand oversees aircraft at certain altitudes.
“We put in place a danger area and issued a NOTAM to alert aircraft operators to the potential hazard. This does not prevent aircraft from flying through the area, operators make their decisions based on the information available,” the CAA said in its Wednesday statement.
The authority added that much of its Oceanic FIR sits over international waters, where it exercises limited authority over activities taking place.
Flight details
Tracking data from Flightradar24 indicates the aircraft was a US military C-17 Globemaster III operating under the call sign ICE28. It left Christchurch Airport at approximately 9 a.m. local time on Tuesday, heading south. Just before 11:30 a.m. — roughly 150 minutes after departure — the jet was back on the ground in Christchurch.
Context: the annual winter fly-in
The mission had been scheduled during the Winter Fly-in (WINFLY) window, the period each year when regular air traffic resumes between Christchurch and two Antarctic research outposts: the US-run McMurdo Station and New Zealand’s Scott Base. WINFLY is a critical logistics window for moving personnel, scientific equipment, and supplies ahead of the summer research season.
CNN has contacted the US Air Force, the US Antarctic Program, and Russia’s State Air Traffic Management Corporation for comment. Aaron Cooper, Martin Goillandeau, and Anna Chernova contributed to this report.
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