Why do planes not fly over the South Pole? The weather is especially treacherous, and there are few diversion airports available in case of emergency. Furthermore, less people live in the southern hemisphere, meaning fewer flights and less demand for polar routes.

Planes frequently fly over the North Pole (the Arctic) because it is the "Great Circle" route connecting major population centers in North America, Europe, and Asia. However, they avoid the South Pole primarily due to safety regulations (ETOPS) and a lack of infrastructure. Under ETOPS (Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards), a plane must always be within a certain flight time (e.g., 180 or 330 minutes) of a "diversion airport" in case of an engine failure. The Antarctic has almost no suitable emergency runways, meaning a flight over the South Pole would be illegally far from help. Additionally, the South Pole is a high-altitude, mountainous landmass (unlike the sea-level Arctic ice), which creates extreme weather, severe turbulence, and fuel-freezing risks. Furthermore, there is simply no demand; while city pairs like New York and Hong Kong benefit from Arctic routes, there are very few major cities in the Southern Hemisphere (like Sydney to Johannesburg) that would find a direct South Pole crossing to be the shortest or most efficient path.