Why airplanes don’t fly over Antarctica

Added: 2026-05-28

[00:00:00]Why do airplanes avoid flying over Antarctica? The reason is terrifying. At first, most people think it's because of the freezing temperatures, but the real reason is much more dangerous.

[00:00:09]Antarctica is so remote that if a plane has an emergency, there are almost no safe places to land for thousands of kilometers. Temperatures can drop below minus 60° C, which can affect fuel systems and aircraft equipment. And if passengers were stranded there, survival would become nearly impossible. That's why most commercial airlines choose longer routes instead of crossing the coldest place on Earth.