why airlines steer clear of Tibet's skies: turbulence threat

When examining global flight routes, an interesting phenomenon emerges: while many flights proceed in almost straight lines to their destinations, something unusual occurs in South Asia—a vast empty space where few aircraft opt to fly over Tibet.

With basic knowledge of Tibet's geographic features, we know that it is home to some of the highest peaks on Earth, and the entire region is dominated by mountains and plateaus rising to heights of 13,000 to 16,000 feet. Although it might seem that these elevations pose no issue for modern airplanes, which can reach much higher altitudes, it is actually the mountains that are the primary reason aircraft avoid this part of the world.

Darren Ansell, the leader of the Space and Aerospace Engineering team at the University of Lancashire in the United Kingdom, explained in an article for "The Conversation" that turbulence is essentially an air disturbance akin to waves encountering obstacles. Ansell likens turbulence to the movement of sea waves and currents, noting that turbulence arises when waves face obstacles, just as air becomes turbulent after encountering mountains.

While it is technically possible to fly over Tibet, the region is fraught with turbulence. Another significant concern is safety. Aircraft typically fly well above the average altitude of 16,000 feet in this area.

However, in the rare event of a cabin pressure drop, pilots must descend to around 10,000 feet, where the air is breathable, in preparation for landing at the nearest airport. This poses a risk because descending to such an altitude could result in colliding with the mountain peaks.

For these reasons, along with the scarcity of emergency landing sites, airplanes not planning to land at Tibetan airports generally avoid this region.