Argentine Antarctica the first on the continent. On 18 December 2012, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom announced that the southern part of British Antarctic Territory (and Argentine Antarctica) has been named "Queen Elizabeth Land" in honour of Queen Elizabeth II. Argentina, which lays claim to part of the area, criticised the naming. In 2013 the Argentine Defense Ministry announced that Petrel Base will become a permanent base by 2015. The base will have an airport and logistics for transfer of passengers and cargo. The geographic structure of the Argentine Antarctica continues some features of the Patagonia, located to
First women to fly to Antarctica some of the station's over-wintering staff avoided meeting the women after so many months, some 50 others took part in celebrations which included a beard contest and a US versus New Zealand sled race. New Zealanders from the nearby Scott Base were also invited to attend. The PanAm pilot, Ralph Savory, referred to the flight attendants as "very nice looking stewardesses". First women to fly to Antarctica The first women to fly to Antarctica were the American flight attendants Patricia (Pat) Hepinstall of Holyoke, Colorado and Ruth Kelley of Houston, Texas who were members of the crew on the Pan