McMurdo Station Ice Runway

The closure is a planned, recurring event driven by natural environmental factors. As the austral summer progresses, rising temperatures cause the sea ice of McMurdo Sound to thin, weaken, and eventually break up. This makes the runway structurally unsound and unsafe for heavy aircraft landings and takeoffs. Operations are then shifted to more stable, semi-permanent airfields.

The physical location of the runway reverts to natural sea ice or open water after its annual seasonal closure. However, the practice of building and operating the runway continues. It is rebuilt at a slightly different location on the sea ice at the beginning of each austral spring (around September-October). The designation AQ-0013 is a generic, non-official ICAO identifier; the facility is an active, recurring part of McMurdo's infrastructure, complementing the compacted-snow Phoenix Airfield (NZFX) and the skiway at Williams Field (NZWD).

The Annual Sea Ice Runway is of critical and ongoing importance to the United States Antarctic Program (USAP) and Operation Deep Freeze. For decades, it has served as the primary airfield at the beginning of each research season (typically October to December). Its key significance is its smooth, hard surface, which is capable of handling large, wheeled, heavy-lift military transport aircraft, including the C-17 Globemaster III and, historically, the C-141 Starlifter and C-5 Galaxy. This allows for the efficient transport of the bulk of personnel, scientific equipment, and supplies for McMurdo Station and the inland South Pole Station at the start of the 'mainbody' deployment. It is the most capable of McMurdo's runways for heavy cargo.

The runway is expected to be reconstructed and 'reopen' for the start of the next Antarctic field season, around October 2024. There are no plans to permanently discontinue its use, as it fulfills a unique and essential logistical role for heavy-lift aircraft that cannot be fully replicated by the other airfields available to McMurdo Station throughout the entire operational season.