Australia Maintains Unique Antarctic Air Routes as Regional Competition Shifts

Australia retains a unique position as the only country with commercial flights to South America and Africa routed near Antarctica. This distinctive corridor is currently served by four airlines: Qantas, China Eastern Airlines, LATAM and South African Airways.

Regarding South American connectivity, LATAM leads the market with seven weekly flights from Santiago to Sydney and Melbourne, plus four weekly services to Auckland, all using Boeing 787 aircraft. Qantas maintains six weekly Sydney-Santiago flights, covering approximately 11,350 kilometers in roughly 12 hours eastbound or 14 hours westbound.

In the Oceania-Africa sector, South African Airways resumed Perth service on April 28, 2024, operating three weekly flights with Airbus A340-300s, increasing to five weekly in November 2025 due to strong demand. Qantas operates four weekly Sydney-Johannesburg flights using the Airbus A380. The market remains exclusive, as Brazil lacks nonstop flights to Oceania due to distance constraints, while Chile dominates South American connections to the region. These long-haul connections trace back to Nov. 14, 1948, when Qantas operated the first Oceania-Africa flight from Sydney to Johannesburg using an Avro Lancastrian.