A US Air Force flight scheduled to travel from Christchurch to Antarctica returned to New Zealand after a warning about potentially hazardous space activity.
New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority said the aircraft changed course and turned back after the warning, and that a NOTAM was published to alert aircraft operators.
Warning issued after Russia’s missile notification
The authority said Russia’s State Air Traffic Management Corporation provided the information about the space activity. The Russian air traffic authority warned that a planned missile launch could create a potential hazard in international airspace within the New Zealand Oceanic Flight Information Region.
Following the notification, a NOTAM was published warning pilots of the potential hazard.
Hazard area established across about 30 million square kilometers
New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority announced that a hazard area had been established to alert aircraft operators. The NOTAM did not automatically ban flights through the area; operators made their own decisions based on the available information.
The New Zealand Oceanic Flight Information Region covers about 30 million square kilometers and is described as one of the world’s largest airspaces. It includes areas responsible for flights at certain altitudes over the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea.
The authority said most of the flight information region lies over international waters and that its control over activities in those areas is limited.
Flight scheduled under the Winter Flights program
The flight had been scheduled as part of the annual Winter Flights program, under which flights between Christchurch, Antarctica’s McMurdo Station and New Zealand’s Scott Base resume.
