I can confirm this, having flown through airports in both places. I flew into Ushuaia from Buenos Aires and out of Punta Arenas, taking a bus between the two (since Chile and Argentina apparently don't get along all that well).
Speaking of which! The website also says "the team will link up with a British Antarctic Survey transport plane". The British and people in Ushuaia (and Argentina generally, although feelings seem to run a bit higher in Ushuaia) also don't get along terribly well. So, this may well be the closest a British team is able to get commercially and link up with a British flight to Antarctica.
Fun fact: the area around Ushuaia (Tierra del Fuego) has a beaver infestation problem, thanks to enterprising souls importing beavers there from Canada.
Yup, the British Antarctic Survey run regular flights from both Punta Arenas and Stanley (Falkland Islands) to Antarctica during the summer season. Ushuaia... not so much. Plus, link flights back to the UK are easier via the Chilean route.
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Not quite true. You can get to Ushuaia, which is a little closer.
I can confirm this, having flown through airports in both places. I flew into Ushuaia from Buenos Aires and out of Punta Arenas, taking a bus between the two (since Chile and Argentina apparently don't get along all that well).
Speaking of which! The website also says "the team will link up with a British Antarctic Survey transport plane". The British and people in Ushuaia (and Argentina generally, although feelings seem to run a bit higher in Ushuaia) also don't get along terribly well. So, this may well be the closest a British team is able to get commercially and link up with a British flight to Antarctica.
Fun fact: the area around Ushuaia (Tierra del Fuego) has a beaver infestation problem, thanks to enterprising souls importing beavers there from Canada.
Yup, the British Antarctic Survey run regular flights from both Punta Arenas and Stanley (Falkland Islands) to Antarctica during the summer season. Ushuaia... not so much. Plus, link flights back to the UK are easier via the Chilean route.
There are various tour operators that will fly you to and/or from the South Shetland Islands on a charter flight too:
http://www.coolantarctica.com/Travel/Fly_to_Antarctica.php
mildly annoying presentation style, got tired of clicking to see more.