Summary

  • Airline restrictions prohibit flying over religiously significant areas like Mecca.
  • Environmental concerns and the preservation of cultural sites have led to the prohibition of aircraft flying over Machu Picchu in Peru and historical wonders like the Parthenon in Athens and the Taj Mahal in India.
  • Political significance and the protection of important locations such as Downing Street, the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, and the residences of US political figures like the President and Camp David have resulted in no-fly zones over these areas.

International air travel has opened the world for exploration, and these days, one can hop on a modern aircraft and fly just about anywhere. But there are some places you'll never be able to fly to, or over, for a variety of reasons.

These might be down to political restrictions, religious caveats, historical significance or environmental concerns. We take a look at five places you're not going to see from the window seat on your next commercial flight.

6 Areas of religious significance

The Islamic holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia could be a helpful area for aircraft to pass over if they were en route to Jeddah from the East or the Saudi capital of Riyadh. However, religious customs mean that airlines are prohibited from entering Mecca and, particularly, flying over the Holy Kaaba. Passenger aircraft are not allowed to travel over Mecca as a mark of respect to this holy site.

Non-Muslims are not permitted to travel to Mecca, as it is a sacred place for the Islamic faith and the most important destination for the Hajj pilgrimage. This rule of keeping Mecca for the Muslim population is so strictly upheld that non-Muslims in Mecca can face a fine and deportation. This would include non-Muslims who fly over Mecca; hence commercial aircraft are prohibited.

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5 Areas of environmental significance

Aviation has caused quite a stir in Peru in recent years. The building of Chinchero Airport, which has been under construction since 2019, is highly opposed by activists and historians. Due to the area's fragile ecology and the significance of the Inca ruins at Machu Picchu, an airport is considered to be the last thing that the region needs.

As it is, aircraft are not allowed to fly over Machu Picchu, a site of extreme cultural significance. The area also has a delicate balance of nature, which is best left untouched. The danger with flying commercial aircraft over the region is that, should any aircraft crash or have an emergency landing, it would undoubtedly damage the precious ecosystem. Furthermore, the side effects of increased pollution in this region could prove destructive for natural habitats.

Machu Picchu, Perú

Nevertheless, the construction of Chinchero continues. It was planned for opening in 2021, but due to the pandemic, this was delayed, and the anticipated opening date now sits at 2025. The airport intends to operate around the clock with a capacity to serve up to five million passengers a year. Plans are in place to extend the airport in the future, giving it an eventual capacity of up to eight million passengers per annum.

The airport site is around 30 miles/50 km from Machu Picchu, marginally closer than the current touch-down site for tourists at Cusco. But the Cusco airport is small, and can only handle smaller aircraft from places like Colombia, Bolivia and Chile. The new airport will be able to accommodate long haul flights from Europe and North America, which is causing concern for the residents of Chinchero.

Chinchero and Machu Picchu on a map
Image: Google Maps

4 Areas of historical significance

Much like flying over Machu Picchu, the reason that passenger aircraft steer clear of the Parthenon in Athens is to protect this historical wonder. This impressive structure on the Athenian Acropolis was a temple dedicated to the Ancient Greek goddess Athena.

While aircraft are permitted to fly over this monument, they must give it a wide berth. Specifically, no aircraft are allowed to fly below 5,000 feet when above the Parthenon.

Similarly, aircraft are not allowed to fly over the famous Taj Mahal in Agra, India. Complaints prompted restrictions on Taj Mahal airspace. In 2015, archeologists and security sought a no-fly zone after Indian military violations. It became a no-fly zone in 2019, yet authorities still had to warn drone operators against entering on a regular basis. In 2022, a possible commercial aircraft sighting sparked outcry, shared on Twitter.

3 Areas of political significance

London's Downing Street is one of the most significant streets in the UK. Home to the serving British Prime Minister, access to this gated location requires special permissions.

As a measure of protecting the country's political elite, aircraft are not allowed to fly directly over this street. In the same vein, a similar restriction also applies above the Houses of Parliament. The Queen's residences at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle also feature no-fly zones directly over these luxurious structures.

In the US, Washington DC is a no-fly zone aside from an area stretching in a 30-mile radius around Regan National Airport. POTUS residence Camp David is also not a place to fly a plane, as is the Bush Family Ranch, various naval bases and the legendary Area 51 (unless you're Janet Airlines of course).

2 Protecting customer safety

There are also numerous places worldwide where restrictions have been issued to increase visitor safety. After 9/11, certain US tourist hotspots needed to improve their security. As such, commercial aircraft are not allowed to fly over some of them even today.

In 2003, a temporary ban on flying over Disney parks was made permanent. It dictates that no aircraft can fly below 3,000 feet over Walt Disney World in Florida, or Disneyland in California. In any case, this restriction is not such a concern for commercial aircraft, as there would be little reason to fly so low in these areas anyway.

Similar bans to protect people from future aircraft-based terrorist attacks have also been implemented for other visitor hotspots. These include the airspace above stadiums in the US, which seat more than 30,000 spectators.

1 Other reasons

Other than the above-stated no-fly zones, aircraft movements can be restricted for various other reasons, including some not-so-obvious ones and sometimes, due to evolving geopolitical situations.

For instance, commercial flights avoid flying over the Tibet Autonomous Region in China, despite its vast size. The reason for this primarily comes down to the geography of the region. Because of the mountains here, the average height of the terrain is over 14,000 feet. This is likely to cause problems in the event of cabin depressurization when an aircraft has to descend to 10,000 feet before diverting to an airport.

Furthermore, air currents rise over the mountains, creating disrupting flows, and as such, an aircraft is more likely to face turbulence here.

Then there are temporary no-fly zones due to political reasons, which are meant for only certain airlines depending upon their country of origin. The Ukraine-Russia conflict has left the world divided, giving birth to several sanctions.

One of them is the restriction of airspace for certain carriers. For instance, the EU, US, and Canada shut their airspace to all Russian planes following its invasion of Ukraine, and Russia retaliated with a similar ban on planes from these places to fly over its vast terrain.

This caused a major disruption in flight services across the globe, with several airlines, particularly those connecting North America with Asia, having to re-route their flights or suspend some services altogether.

Have you ever visited any of these destinations? Do you know of any other no-fly zones? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!