Why do some flights go over North Pole?

This route is called a geodesic or great circle. While map projections distort these routes confusing passengers, the great circle path is the shortest path between two far locations. This is why pilots fly polar routes saving time and distance. And this is why pilots often fly over Greenland.



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The short answer is, no, it's not illegal to fly over Antarctica. But there are practical considerations that make it challenging for regular airlines to navigate across the land. In many parts of Antarctica, there's limited or no infrastructure, no landing strips, and obviously no refuelling stations for planes.

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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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Russia and Alaska are divided by the Bering Strait, which is about 55 miles at its narrowest point.

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Though inaccessible for most of the year, it is possible to travel to the North Pole in June and July when the ice is thinner, or in April if travelling via helicopter. All North Pole voyages start and end in Helsinki, Finland, from where you'll fly by charter plane to Murmansk, in Northwest Russia to board your ship.

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Currently, the bragging rights for the longest flight in the world belong to Singapore Airlines' New York City to Singapore route. Its longest flight path, which connects Singapore's Changi Airport with New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, 9,585 miles away, takes 18 hours and 40 minutes.

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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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The north and south pole receive more cosmic radiation than areas near the equator because the earth's magnetic field diverts the radiation. The atmosphere acts as a shield and considerably reduces the amount of cosmic radiation reaching the earth's surface.

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