Why do flights go over north pole?

Question

flights from asia to north america go way up north close to north pole and then come down south to north american east coast cities etc. instead of going straight parallel to the lattitude ?

Answer 1

It depends on the air up there.

Going from Sydney to Bangkok and back you fly around Australia instead of straight through because there is a 'dead air' zone in the middle of the country. So i would imagine that maybe it is the same for the asia to north america route?

I think it also depends on how fast the wind is up there too.

And probably the routes of other planes. You wouldnt want to crash into another plane now would you?

Answer 2

probably that way is safer

Answer 3

it's shorter route

Answer 4

Not because the routes are safer, there is no wind, in case of emergency landing (seriously, north pole is not for emergency landing) or passengers may view the icy north pole , but....

Because flights from Asia to North America (vv) use the Great Circle Route. For westbound flights between continents in the northern hemisphere these paths will extend northward near or into the arctic region, while eastbound flights will often fly a more southerly track to take advantage of the jet stream.

And simple, because Earth is like a sphere. The diameter of  the equator is larger than the diameter of the north pole. That's why plane flies over north pole; in order to cut flight time.

You may have noticed that some Asian flights heading to New York or Toronto make a quick stop in Vancouver or Anchorage (like Cathay Pacific). This is because those two cities are located near North Pole (still far though, but the nearest major cities) and near the coastlines (if they are located inland, flight time will increase).

If a plane is going straight parallel to the latitude, the flight time will increase because, as I said, the diameter of the equator is bigger than the diameter of north pole. Besides, wind is an important factor here, so flights tend to fly over the north pole.

Answer 5

Read this answers its the best:

2 reasons

1. So they are close to land for an emergancy landing

2. it is shorter because the earth is round