KRASNOYARSK, November 24. /TASS/. The Krasnoyarsk Region plans to begin regular tourist flights to the North Pole via the Taymyr in 2024, deputy head of the governor's administration Yulia Filatova told TASS at the Russian Creative Week - Siberia forum.
As yet, when tourists want to get to the North Pole, they get to the Spitsbergen Archipelago, and there they take an Antonov An-74 flight to the Barneo Ice Base, and further on onboard a Mil Mi-8 helicopter they eventually reach the North Pole. The new route via the Taimyr will be from the village of Khatanga.
"If everything goes well, and we are moving actively in this direction, then from next April these flights will be regular," the regional administration's representative said.
A hotel in Khatanga has been restored, the local airport's runway has been upgraded, and there is a new tour operator for such products, she continued adding the route's logistics had been determined. "The outstanding issues are the border control, the aircraft - since it will be a commercial product, and we as the state would not be selling it, tour operators will sell it," she said. One of the purposes of the test flight via the Taimyr to the North Pole earlier in the year was to check the infrastructures, she added.
Khatanga is one of the northernmost settlements in the region, where more than 2,000 people live. Air communication is the only year-round option to get to that settlement, and the navigation option is available for just one month - from late August to late September.
About forum
The Russian Creative Week - Siberia forum runs in Krasnoyarsk for the third time. The first event took place in November, 2021.