00:02Touching down at the bottom of the world.
00:05This is my 21st year of flying to Antarctica.
00:07I still get an absolute kick out of it every single time.
00:10It's just nothing, it's just white and white and white.
00:13But the horizon is absolutely razor sharp.
00:16Wilkins Aerodrome is Australia's aviation gateway in Antarctica.
00:20But its 3.5km ice runway is only open for part of the summer.
00:26And it takes weeks of preparation to get it ready for the influx of flights.
00:33All day, all week, we just start clearing the runway.
00:36Snow blowers, large blades on the front of loaders, bulldozers, scrapers behind tractors.
00:41The Aerodrome is managed by a team of about half a dozen expeditioners
00:45who live and work together for several months at the remote outpost.
00:50The team that we work with is just fantastic.
00:53And the bond you form with your team out here at Wilkins is amazing.
00:57About 20 planes will touch down here at Wilkins Aerodrome over the summer months
01:02providing critical supplies and personnel for the Australian Antarctic program.
01:08But in Antarctica, the weather can turn in a flash.
01:11And conditions are sometimes extremely challenging for passengers and pilots.
01:16But we've got some pretty good procedures in place that have bedded in for many years
01:20that mitigate all that risk.
01:22And despite the hard work of the runway crew, there are times when it's simply too hazardous
01:27to allow planes to land.
01:29So we will do all the prep work just for a plane to get cancelled
01:33and then we just get ready to do it the next day.
01:36Keeping Australia's Antarctic flights on schedule as best they can.
01:40Keep in mind.
01:41Keep in mind.
01:41Keep in mind.
01:41Keep in mind.
01:42Keep in mind.
01:43Keep in mind.
01:44Keep in mind.
01:44Keep in mind.
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