Why planes will never fly over Tibetan Plateau ‘danger zone’

If you’ve been on a plane recently and have bypassed Tibet, then you might have wondered why your aircraft looped around instead of flying straight through, - and you’re not the only one.

According to a YouTuber by the name of Insipedia, there is a pretty major reason for this.

The ins and outs of airplane internal processes are complex, and they mainly focus on securing the safety of all passengers during the journey.

This also means preparing for potential emergencies.

This is why, according to the video and also on the general internet, it’s widely known that flying through the Tibetan Plateau is a no go.

Here’s why:

Altitude issues

The main reason that planes avoid this area is down to the altitude of the region.

The average cruising height of aircrafts sits at around 35,000feet, but in an emergency which requires safe oxygen levels, a flight will need to drop down to 10,000 within a certain amount of time.

Pilots of Reddit revealed that it takes 22 minutes to descend to this height safely, however the Tibetan Plateau is a tricky landscape.

Mostly, it averages at being 14,000ft which is 4,000 too high in order for planes to descend in time to get the oxygen to passengers before diverting to an airport.

A lack of landing space

In the Tibetan Plateau, you may be surprised to know what there are very few airports.

So, in the case of an emergency, planes would find it difficult to find somewhere to conduct an emergency landing on time.

There is no way to land safely in an emergency. Liu Xiaodong/VCG via Getty Images

Increased turbulence

Turbulence during a flight is such an awful feeling, and in this area it’s much worse than a few bumps.

Turbulence is caused by air currents moving up and down at different speeds which can be impacted by several factors, including the weather conditions and mountains.

Turbulence in the Tibetan Plateau is worse than other areas due to its abundance of mountains which would be hard for planes to avoid, leading to unexpected plane movements that only highly skilled pilots could navigate.

It could also have a detrimental effect on a plane needing to find a safe landing spot.

The jet fuel could freeze

It’s not something you’ll hear about often, but due to the temperatures in the mountain area, it can reach levels which could freeze jet fuel for prolonged periods of time.

For example, in 2008, British Airways flight 38 crash-landed in Heathrow Airport after ice crystals formed in the fuel and blocked the engine, causing the plane to crash.

There were no fatalities, but imagine this happening up in the mountains? Not good.

Topics: Travel, Science

Britt Jones