Why do planes fly north when going to Europe?

Despite what many people believe, the answer actually has nothing to do with safety. The real answer is because going north may actually provide a shorter route. This is called Great Circle Navigation. Because of the curvature of the Earth, the shortest route between two locations may appear much longer on a flat map.



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Why are flights to Europe shorter going east? The reason for quicker flights while flying eastwards is jet streams. Put simply, these are fast-flowing, narrow air currents in the atmosphere found at high altitudes.

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The reason for this is that the earth revolves on its axis, forcing the middle to bulge out slightly. The curvature of the earth and its extra equatorial width mean that curving towards the poles is a shorter distance than flying in a straight line.

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Jet Streams Due to Earth's rotation, these air currents often move from West to East. If an airplane is flying in the same direction as a jet stream, it may save time and fuel, but if it is flying against a jet stream, it will encounter extreme turbulence and might be damaged.

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What is the longest flight in the world by distance? The longest flight in the world by distance is New York (JFK) to Singapore (SIN) on Singapore Airlines clocking in at 9,537 miles. What plane can fly the farthest in the world?

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21 January 1939: An Imperial Airways Short S. 23 Empire (G-ADUU) ditched into the Atlantic Ocean after suffering a loss of power to its engines. 10 of the 13 people on board survived.

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It is the rotation of the Earth that is causing the longer flight times, but not because it's moving towards or away from the flying aircraft. It is instead due to its influence on wind patterns – the so-called high-altitude jet streams.

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The most common reason is that there are no airstrips or airports on many of the small islands, so if a plane had to make an emergency landing, it would be difficult to find a place to land. Additionally, the Pacific Ocean is vast and remote, so if a plane were to go down, it would be very difficult to find.

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Flights cost even more in early 2023 than they do now. Factors such as fuel costs, staffing shortages, aging IT infrastructure and hidden fees all contribute to expensive flights in 2023.

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These include:
  • Iran.
  • Lebanon.
  • Syria.
  • Iraq.
  • Pakistan.
  • Libya.
  • Tunisia.
  • Malaysia.


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EasyJet. EasyJet has never had an accident. In fact, its history is so incident-free, it appears difficult to find any serious issue on one of its flights.

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The simple answer is yes, pilots do, and are allowed to sleep during flight but there are strict rules controlling this practice. Pilots would only normally sleep on long haul flights, although sleep on short haul flights is permitted to avoid the effects of fatigue.

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The Loganair Westray to Papa Westray route is the shortest scheduled passenger flight in the world. Flights on the route are scheduled for one and a half minutes, and actual flying time is closer to one minute. The record for the fastest flight is 53 seconds.

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October 2, 1957: Trans World Airlines' L-1649A, set the record for the longest-duration, non-stop passenger flight aboard a piston-powered airliner on the inaugural London–Heathrow to San Francisco Flight 801 where the aircraft, having encountered strong headwinds, stayed aloft for 23 hours and 19 minutes covering ...

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Airspace over Ukraine is devoid of commercial airline traffic as planes use corridors well to the south of the country.

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Most of the carriers still overflying Russia, however, are based in Asia and the Middle East — many of which are household names like Qatar Airways, Air China, Etihad Airways, and Emirates. And, some of these routes are even flying to and from the US.

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