A pilot has deconstructed the mystery around why airplanes avoid flights over Antartica – and the reasoning may surprise you. Here’s everything you need to know
While some routes could be quicker if planes flew over Antarctica, the icy continent remains largely off-limits to commercial flights—and with good reason, a pilot recently revealed.
Marita, a pilot from Spain, took to her TikTok page to explain why “no company is going to commit to a route” over Antarctica. The icy mass is approximately 14.2 million square kilometers (5.5 million square miles) in size.
It is the fifth largest continent on Earth, larger than Europe, so you may be curious as to why planes don’t tend to cut through the area. Thankfully, the aviation expert was on hand to share her opinion.
In a video , Marita revealed the reasons why there are hardly any flights that fly over Antarctica, despite increasingly advanced aviation technology. Apparently, it is related to the thickness of the atmosphere.
“The layers of the atmosphere are not the same all over the planet. Due to the planet’s rotation, they are thicker at the equator than at the poles,” Marita said.
According to the aviation expert, the thickness of the atmosphere has a direct effect on people’s health as it protects us from solar radiation. “If aeroplanes fly through the troposphere but it is very thin, we will receive more radiation,” Marita explained.
Marita further said that throughout their life, an aeroplane pilot “receives more radiation than someone working in a nuclear power plant”.
“We have to take that into account and try not to expose pilots to radiation,” she added.
Another reason why there are no commercial flights over the South Pole is that “the aeroplane and ice are very bad friends, especially fuel,” and in case something goes wrong, “there are no emergency airports”.
Marita said: “We have to understand that most of our planet’s landmass is on one side of the planet. The Pacific, for example, takes up half of it.”
The pilot also noted that in Antarctica “flights are avoided because there are no towers to stay in contact with humans. If something happens, it’s not just that there’s no one there; it’s that no one knows.”
Thirdly, Marita warned that the flight experience wouldn’t be very nice. She added: “Flying from Argentina to Australia over Antarctica might be super-fast, but it won’t be comfortable; it will be turbulent.”
Additionally, it is one of the most extreme meteorological zones on Earth. The pilot stressed: “No company is going to commit to a route there.”
Despite all the drawbacks of flying over this part of the planet, the pilot revealed it is not illegal to do so. But while you’re technically able to, the journey wouldn’t come cheaply.
Marita added: “There are private companies that, for a modest price of 15,000 Euros (around £12,500), will take you for a ride.”
