The Himalayas greatly enhance the beauty of India, and a trip to one of the many majestic hill stations on this mountain range is always an enjoyable one. You can trek up to the mountains or drive around the hills in a car, but what you cannot do is catch a glimpse of the Himalayas from an aeroplane. That is because no planes fly over this mountain range. Here, we’ll take a look at why aeroplanes avoid flying over the Himalayas.
Technically, some modern aeroplanes are equipped to fly over the mountain range, but it is spread over a huge area of over 2,300 kilometres in length with an average elevation of over 6,000 meters. As the tallest peak, Everest stands at 8,848 meters, which means that commercial aircraft cannot fly below the flight level FL 310 in the area. This itself eliminates a large number of contemporary aircraft types, including the Boeing 777-300.
In addition to that, since the Himalayas touch the stratosphere, the air is thin with low oxygen levels. As passenger planes fly at an altitude of 30-35,000 feet above sea level, it can be dangerous for them to fly at the height of the Himalayas.
In case of an emergency, the oxygen available in aeroplanes lasts between 20 to 25 minutes. The same time is available for the plane to come down to 8-10,000 feet. In the Himalayas, planes cannot come down in such a short time, which makes flying there dangerous.
In case of an emergency landing, there is no flat terrain to land on in the Himalayas. Additionally, navigation equipment also does not function at its best over the Himalayan range. If something goes wrong, communication with the air traffic control may get cut off. These factors make flying over the Himalayas a non-feasible option.
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