Arkia Airlines has recently completed an extraordinary aviation project in which, for the first time, an Israeli aircraft landed at Longyearbyen Airport in the Svalbard archipelago - the world’s northernmost permanent settlement and one of the most remote destinations served by scheduled flights.
The operation, carried out in cooperation with Spirit World Productions and Roie Galitz Nature Photography, included four special flights to the Arctic region using Arkia’s Airbus A320 aircraft. The flights included an intermediate stop in Helsinki for refueling, and from there continued to Longyearbyen, which serves as the gateway to the Svalbard archipelago between Norway and the North Pole.
This is the first time an Israeli aircraft has landed at this destination. It is also one of the most complex operations the company has carried out outside its regular route network.
Hundreds of kilometers from the North Pole
Longyearbyen is considered the world’s northernmost permanent settlement and is located only a few hundred kilometers from the North Pole. The area attracts climate researchers, nature enthusiasts, and photographers from around the world due to its icy landscapes, glaciers, and Arctic wildlife, including polar bears, Svalbard reindeer, and Arctic foxes.
Oz Berlowitz, CEO of Arkia, said that the company is proud to lead unique aviation missions alongside its regular operations, and that the project demonstrates the operational capabilities and flexibility of the company’s teams even on complex flights to extreme destinations.
Tali Yativ, CEO and owner of Spirit World Productions: “As a company that has made pioneering spirit and breakthrough to the world’s most fascinating destinations its guiding principle, reaching Svalbard is the realization of a vision and the writing of a new page in Israeli tourism history.”