Why do planes not fly over Antarctica?

Thanks to the low visibility and undeveloped infrastructure, flying over Antarctica is extremely difficult. Specifically, because of the strong magnetic fields that surround the polar regions, navigating there, no matter how well-equipped the airplane is in terms of instrumentation, can be particularly challenging.



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Planes can and do sometimes fly over Antarctica, it is not a no-fly zone and it is not illegal, it is just very impractical to do so. Smaller planes fly lower and have to deal with challenging weather conditions, snow-falls, white-outs and icing problems.

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There are no economically significant routes that would require flying over Antarctica. The southern hemisphere has a much smaller population than the northern, and there's almost no permanent habitation more than 45 degrees south.

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The Mount Erebus disaster occurred on 28 November 1979 when Air New Zealand Flight 901 (TE-901) flew into Mount Erebus on Ross Island, Antarctica, killing all 237 passengers and 20 crew on board. Air New Zealand had been operating scheduled Antarctic sightseeing flights since 1977.

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In what could go down as one of the great feats in polar history, the American Colin O'Brady, 33, covered the final 77.54 miles of the 921-mile journey across Antarctica in one final sleepless, 32-hour burst, becoming the first person ever to traverse Antarctica from coast to coast solo, unsupported and unaided by wind ...

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Travelers do not need permission to go to Antarctica, but tourism operators must hold a valid permit. First, a bit of background on why it is legal to visit Antarctica. Antarctica is not a country. The continent is protected by the Antarctic Treaty, which preserves it for peaceful and scientific use.

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