Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station Airport, designated ICAO NZSP, serves the United States Antarctic Program's permanent research station at the geographic South Pole. The airfield sits at an elevation of approximately 9,301 feet (2,835 meters) above sea level on the Antarctic Plateau, making operations extremely demanding due to thin air, extreme cold, and perpetual ice. The airport is operated by the United States Antarctic Program under the management of the National Science Foundation and is not open to commercial traffic. It supports only mission-critical logistics, personnel rotation, and emergency medical evacuations for station personnel. Flights to the South Pole typically originate from McMurdo Station (Williams Field or Pegasus Field) using ski-equipped aircraft such as the LC-130 Hercules operated by the New York Air National Guard's 109th Airlift Wing. Operations are heavily weather-dependent and restricted to the Antarctic summer season (roughly October through February).