This is how Spitsbergen looks from above when flying from Ny-Ålesund to Spitsbergen:
See the video from the worlds most beautiful flight
The journey is fantastic, but very few are allowed to board the plane between Ny-Ålesund and Longyearbyen.
In the video window above, you can watch 5 minutes and 52 seconds of slow-motion footage from the world's most beautiful scheduled flight route. Feel free to plug your PC into the TV, lean back on the sofa, and enjoy the view.
It is not easy to describe the 25-minute journey between two of the planet's northernmost settlements. It is one of the shortest flight routes in Norway and offers an exceptional experience of beautiful and untouched nature.
But unfortunately - or fortunately - this is an exclusive offer reserved for a few. You cannot call a travel agency and buy a ticket.
Not welcome
Ny-Ålesund is a station for Arctic research and environmental monitoring, not a tourist destination.
Therefore, the small airport normally does not accept tourists. It is only open for so-called traffic with prior agreement, meaning you must have special permission to land here. You can't just come roaring in with your own plane. And the scheduled flight here is only to serve the researchers and contribute to the operation of Ny-Ålesund.
- Tickets are sold by Kings Bay. There is no access for tourists, according to the state-owned company's website.
Deficit
Those lucky enough to fly to Ny-Ålesund can enjoy the fact that the ticket is heavily subsidised by the state.
The operation of the flight route amounts to around 40 million kroner, but Kings Bay only takes in 15 million kroner in ticket revenues. So the route is not exactly good business. The deficit is covered by the state. For Norway, it is important to promote Ny-Ålesund's research significance.
Here, it is the Norwegian Polar Institute that leads the research station and has the host role.
Seats with a view
Hamnerabben Airport is located at 78°56′N 11°56′E, and has an 808-meter-long gravel runway.
It is Lufttransport that operates the route on behalf of Kings Bay. They have two daily departures a week in winter, double that in summer. To Ny-Ålesund, they fly their two Dornier 228s with up to 19 seats. The cabin is cramped, but it has the pleasant advantage of only having window seats.
Polar bear?
In clear weather, passengers are guaranteed an indescribable view of glaciers, wild mountains, and a landscape like no other. It takes the breath away from even the most discerning globetrotter. You see the Tre Kroner mountain range, the Kongsvegen Glacier, the Krone Glacier, and not least the beautiful Kongsfjorden.
And perhaps the occasional polar bear lurking around looking for dinner. It is a world-class experience.
As the Americans say: Breathtaking!
