The sky's the limit — or is it? Take a good look,
because you won't be flying over these no-go zones any time soon.
Located in Peru, the ruins of Machu Picchu stand as testament to the Inca
civilization that existed centuries ago; they are thought to date back to
the 15th and 16th centuries. Machu Picchu, which means "old peak," is
today one of Peru's biggest tourist draws. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Spread over a vast area, Machu Picchu features massive stone structures, a cemetery,
and a temple. Since it's located at the end of the hugely popular Inca trail, people from all
over the world visit Machu Picchu on vacation — which has had both positive and negative impacts
on the site itself. On the one hand, the increased revenue allows for the ruins to be preserved and
taken care of. On the other, there have been a number of serious environmental consequences.
"A tourist who comes and goes leaves us with about two to three kilos of
rubbish. They leave us with plastic bottles, fruit peels, and all of that."
In 2006, the Peruvian government created a no-fly zone around Machu Picchu in response
to a rise in low-flying helicopter tours. Environmentalists claimed that the tours had
the potential to hurt the indigenous fauna and flora in the area. The entire area is
now off-limits to aircraft in an effort to preserve the site for future tourism,
so new generations will always be able to experience these famous ruins.
A relic of the Mughal Empire from centuries past, India's Taj Mahal has long been one of
the most sought-out tourist destinations in the world. The structure dates back all the
way to the 17th century, and is widely known for its incredible Mughal-era architecture
and decorations. The Taj Mahal itself is a giant mausoleum for Mumtaz Mahal,
a former 17th-century empress, but that is not the complex's only building. There are also mosques,
gardens, and even a museum, and it has long been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Until the 2010s, there were no official restrictions on the airspace
surrounding the Taj Mahal, but that changed following a series of complaints. In 2015,
both archeologists and the Taj Mahal's security service requested that an official no-fly zone
be instituted after the Indian military violated the mausoleum's airspace on multiple occasions.
By 2019, the Taj Mahal had secured status as a no-fly zone, but even today authorities are
forced to warn off drone operators who enter the no-fly zone. In early 2022, what may have
been a commercial aircraft was also seen flying above the Taj Mahal, prompting more outcries
from archeologists and security officials. A Twitter user captured footage of the airplane
flying over the building, showing what may have been a commercial jet violating its airspace.
Considering the many important governmental installations located inside Washington,
D.C., it's no surprise that the city is blanketed by some of the most restricted
air space in the entire world. D.C. is regulated by a "Special Flight
Rules Area" that consists of a 30-mile radius outer ring and a 15-mile radius
inner ring. The rings are centered on the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport,
which is located on the opposite side of the Potomac River from the White House.
Travel within the 15-mile inner ring, which is designated as the "Flight Restricted Zone," or
FRZ, is especially controlled, and even unmanned aircraft such as drones are banned from flying.
Drones are allowed between the inner and outer rings, but only if they meet several
requirements. Commercial airlines flying to Ronald Reagan Airport are allowed within the FRZ without
a waiver, but everyone else needs explicit FAA clearance before entering or exiting.
It is possible to get a waiver if you are a civilian aircraft,
but you are probably going to need a pretty good reason to do so,
as the FAA is widely concerned with making sure all politicians in D.C. are well-protected from
any potential incidents. Flying over the White House itself is, of course,
a huge no-go — unless you're the president, or happen to be on presidential business.
"If the plane won't leave the airspace, will you shoot them down?"
"If required, we'll execute the rules of engagement,
per the command of the commander of the North American aerospace defense command."
Penalties for violating the Special Flight Rules Area include both civil
and criminal consequences and monetary fines.
To call relations between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or DPRK, and the United States
poor would be something of an understatement. In 1945, Korea was divided at the 38th parallel,
with the U.S. supporting the Republic of Korea in the south. Though the Korean War officially ended
with an armistice in 1953, tensions have always remained high between the North and the South.
As a result, the FAA does not allow any U.S. civilian aircraft to come anywhere close
to the DPRK's capitol at Pyongyang. The FAA first implemented these restrictions in 1997,
and they have only become heavier as relations between the two Koreas worsened. Since 2014,
the DPRK has been regularly launching missiles from Pyongyang into the Sea of Japan unannounced,
while also jamming navigation and communication networks. This presents
a very serious problem for civilian aircraft, as they have no way of knowing when a test
might kick off. If one of these tests were to take place during a flight,
the plane's communications and navigation equipment might not work properly.
In 2022, the FAA put out a release that mentioned an increase in the frequency of ballistic missile
launches from the DPRK. The release also suggested that the DPRK could potentially be testing nuclear
missiles in the area — if one was to impact a U.S. civil aircraft, the results could be disastrous.
One of the many consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been the restriction
of civil aircraft into and out of the country. The Russians invaded Ukraine in early 2022,
and almost immediately Ukraine responded by shutting down civilian air access. This
was done to ensure that no civilian aircraft were mistaken as military and inadvertently
shot down by opposing troops. Tragically, this had previously happened in 2014, when
a flight from Malaysian Airlines was shot down by pro-Russian forces, killing almost 300 civilians.
In addition to the restriction of civilian aircraft, there have also been discussions
about implementing an official military no-fly zone over the area of conflict
while the war continues. The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has asked the
U.S. and NATO to implement and enforce a no-fly zone, but they have so far rejected calls to do
so. Their reasoning is that enforcing a no-fly zone would risk escalating the war with Russia,
as NATO would have to shoot down Russian aircraft in order to enforce a no-fly zone.
"President Biden has been clear that we are not going to get into a war with Russia."
In addition, no-fly zones are extremely costly to enforce, averaging more than $1 billion annually.
The Russian Invasion of Ukraine in 2022 affected air travel outside of Ukraine,
too. Aircraft registered to many Western nations, including the United States,
Canada, and Britain, are all prohibited from entering any part of Russian airspace. This
has been the case since shortly after the Russian invasion began,
when Western nations banned Russian airplanes from their airspace.
While this was supposed to be a punitive measure enacted by Russian President Vladimir Putin,
these Western nations probably would have imposed a similar ban on their registered
aircraft, anyways. This is because, similar to Ukraine, the likelihood of a mistake occurring
and a civilian liner being inadvertently shot down is too much of a risk to take.
The ban has affected other travel routes around the world, too, as airliners are forced to take
alternative routes that are less fuel efficient, leading to unnecessary stops and half-full planes.
Some foreign aircraft are still allowed in Russian airspace, though, taking advantage of shorter
routes and potentially costing the American airline industry billions of dollars each year.
For nearly a century, bizarre and unexplained disappearances within the Bermuda Triangle have
made it one of the most mysterious places on Earth. The intrigue dates back to 1945,
when 27 Navy Fliers on Flight 19 went missing under strange circumstances. One afternoon,
five Navy bombers left Florida on a training
exercise that was to take them through the triangle, but they never returned.
Transmissions from their attempted return flight indicated they were off-course and lost over the
ocean, and, when they stopped communicating, the Navy sent two rescue planes to investigate.
One of the rescue planes also disappeared, and no trace was found of any of them. Ever since,
legends have grown about the supernatural nature of the triangle, which include several
other disappearances. While the Bermuda Triangle is not an official no-fly zone,
countless people are wary of traveling in the area, and many avoid it completely.
Rather than supernatural phenomena, more reasonable explanations point to
the extreme weather conditions in the triangle as the culprit behind most of these incidents,
including Flight 19. In the aftermath of that particular disappearance, Navy officials
determined that the planes had simply blown off course due to severe winds. In addition, a witness
saw a plane explode and vanish into the ocean, suggesting they may have crashed into each other.
Most people probably don’t realize it, but there are over 160 active volcanoes in the United
States alone. The most well-known is probably Washington's Mount St. Helens, which famously
erupted on May 18th, 1980, captivating the nation with its awe-inspiring natural devastation.
"The volcano's blasts have come with a vengeance today,
the spectacle of the massive plume is one that few will forget."
As incredible as it sounds, there are usually double-digit numbers
of volcanoes exploding at any given time around the world — including right now.
Obviously, trying to fly through a volcano is an absolutely terrible idea. As the International
Civil Aviation Organization explained in a 2012 report, just being in the area of
a volcanic explosion is extremely dangerous for virtually any aircraft. The hard glass particles
and pulverized rock are capable of inflicting serious damage to the outside of an aircraft,
and could potentially obscure the pilots' vision by damaging the windshield. In addition,
the air inside the cabin could become contaminated by volcanic ash,
and the electrical system faces the risk of short-circuiting.
That doesn't even take into account the engine, which is very susceptible to damage from volcanic
ash. Not only could the glass and rock damage the engine internally after getting sucked in, but,
due to the low melting point of volcanic ash, it could also cause the engine to fail completely.
In short, flying toward an erupting volcano is about the worst thing a pilot could possibly do.
A good pilot must be able to fly in all kinds of weather and environmental
conditions. Mountainous terrain poses perhaps the greatest threat to an
aircraft. Everything from changing winds to air pressure to variable temperatures
all contribute to making mountain flying very difficult to master. That's why flying
in Nepal, situated among the Himalayan Mountains, can be such an arduous task.
From 2012 to 2022, more than 130 people died in 10 different plane crashes in Nepal,
and that doesn't include the other 10 plane crashes with survivors. Authorities pointed
to the difficult terrain, extreme elevation, and changing weather conditions as catalysts
for the majority of these accidents. Over a similar period from 2009 to 2018, there were
21 aviation accidents that killed more than 150 people. Nepal is a beautiful country and a popular
destination for tourists, but flying in safely is, unfortunately, something of a challenge.
"To all who come to this happy place, welcome!"
Since the 1950s, Americans have been able to experience the magic of Walt Disney in
person by visiting either the Disneyland amusement park or Disney World resort
complex. California's Disneyland came first in 1955, while Florida's Disney
World opened in 1971. Today, millions of people visit each park every year.
It might sound surprising, but ever since the September 11th terror attacks in New York City,
both Disneyland and Disney World have been considered official no-fly zones. According
to the FAA's Disneyland Notice to Airmen and the similar Disney World Notice to Airmen,
the no-fly zones extend for a 3-mile radius from each park and cover up to
3,000 feet in elevation. They are both considered "National Defense Airspace,"
and both manned and unmanned aircraft, including drones, are prohibited from flying within it.
Not everyone is a fan of this special status, however. As part of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis
and the GOP's feud with Disney, conservative lawmakers have attempted to introduce legislation
to abolish Disney's no-fly zones. The legislation was introduced by Rep. Troy Nehls from Texas and
garnered the support of several co-sponsors, but it has yet to successfully pass through congress.