I know some civilian routes fly between Iceland and Norway.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2006-04-04-0604040271-story.html
The differences in weight and time can be striking. On Monday, United’s Chicago-to-Hong Kong flights carried 333 passengers and took 14 hours and 52 minutes with a route that went over the pole.
Given the day’s wind conditions, the same flight routed over eastern Russia would have taken 16 hours and six minutes and been able to carry 150 passengers. If it had been sent over the Pacific, the plane would have carried 70 passengers and taken an estimated 16 hours, 31 minutes.
While distance is a factor that flight controllers consider, they also look at winds and other weather factors, said Mike Stills, manager of international operations flight dispatch.
“When winds are really strong, it’s more advantageous to fly a polar route, where there’s no wind,” he said.
Commercial service over the pole began in the 1990s, as agreements with Russia opened air space to commercial airlines. Northwest Airlines and United were the largest users of the routes in the earliest days,
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2006-04-04-0604040271-story.html
The differences in weight and time can be striking. On Monday, United’s Chicago-to-Hong Kong flights carried 333 passengers and took 14 hours and 52 minutes with a route that went over the pole.
Given the day’s wind conditions, the same flight routed over eastern Russia would have taken 16 hours and six minutes and been able to carry 150 passengers. If it had been sent over the Pacific, the plane would have carried 70 passengers and taken an estimated 16 hours, 31 minutes.
While distance is a factor that flight controllers consider, they also look at winds and other weather factors, said Mike Stills, manager of international operations flight dispatch.
“When winds are really strong, it’s more advantageous to fly a polar route, where there’s no wind,” he said.
Commercial service over the pole began in the 1990s, as agreements with Russia opened air space to commercial airlines. Northwest Airlines and United were the largest users of the routes in the earliest days,