If you look at the flight paths of aircraft traveling around the world, you’ll notice some interesting patterns. One is that planes don’t always fly in straight lines to their destinations. Take a closer look and you’ll see that very few routes cross Tibet.
Tibet’s landscape is a jumble of mountains and high plateaus. While planes could simply climb above the peaks, those same mountains are a big reason pilots try to avoid the region, IFLScience reported.
The first problem: mountain ranges create strong turbulence. “It’s a disturbance in the air much like waves and ocean currents. If a wave meets no obstacles, it will move smoothly; but if it hits a seawall, it breaks,” explained Darren Ansell, head of the Department of Space and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Central Lancashire in the UK.
He says when air flows over man-made structures or natural terrain like mountains, the airflow is disrupted and turbulence results. “So if you’re taking off or landing at an airport near a mountain range or very hilly terrain, you’re very likely to encounter this type of turbulence during takeoff and shortly thereafter,” the expert added.
The second problem is safety. Although flying over Tibet is generally possible, the mountain ranges can make the journey bumpy. In that region, planes often have to fly at altitudes well above 5,000 meters. However, if the cabin depressurizes (a rare event), pilots will likely have to descend to about 3,000 meters, where the air is breathable, before looking for an opportunity to land at the nearest airfield. But descending to that altitude could put the aircraft into the mountains.
For these reasons — and because there are few places suitable for emergency landings — planes try to avoid flying over Tibet.
