Delays in the delivery of new aircraft, from Airbus and Boeing, forced Lufthansa to reactivate its Airbus A340-600 and Airbus A380 four-engine aircraft, which were the first to be withdrawn from service during the pandemic due to their high operating costs. One of these reactivated A340s barely returned to the skies and went straight to Ushuaia to serve a very exotic flight.

The aircraft concerned has the registration D-AIHW and is a 14 year old A340-600, carrying up to 297 passengers in 4 classes.

See also: Colombia: American to cease flights to San Andrés Island.

Without flying since last October, the aircraft made a test flight on the 24th in Frankfurt and on Saturday (28th) took off from the German city to Buenos Aires, where it made a technical stopover before heading to Ushuaia.

This Airbus A340-600 transported a total of 274 tourists, who boarded cruises operated by L’Austral, Nat Geo Resolution, Viking Octantis, Roald Amundsen and Hamburg Cruises. The cruises offer visitors the opportunity to see the region’s wildlife, such as seals, penguins and whales, up close.

Passengers can also enjoy scenic landscapes and glacial forests, as well as disembark in some of Antarctica’s most remote locations for hiking, sailing and even mountaineering.

See also: American Airlines to discontinue flights to Samaná, Dominican Republic.

At the time of publication, this is Lufthansa’s only scheduled charter flight to Ushuaia.