on a recent trip from london to KL, it appeared from the on-screen flight display that we were flying over afghanistan, iran and perhaps a very tiny corner of iraq (or at least very close). this got me thinking about what countries do not allow commercial aircraft flyovers or which countries are no-fly zones for regular commercial traffic due to safety/security concerns.

no, i am not paranoid just curious as to what the real facts and regulations are...not interested in speculation. little/no information on this topic found on the internet.

It's difficult to be comprehensive about the subject, but I can confirm that there are no fly zones around the world, including many in the US.

Travel in any airspace is at the pleasure of the country which owns or controls that airspace. They have 100% right of approval or disapproval of entry of any aircraft. They can, of course, exercise that right based on any criteria they wish. For example they could permit, say, US commercial flights but not military. Or general aviation but not commercial.

Countries can also dictate where aircraft can fly and what advance procedures, if any, are needed. For example, Cuba permits most aircraft to overfly the island but only in 4 well-defined corridors and with advance notice. They also can collect a fee if they wish.

As to within the US, it is prohibited to fly not only over the White House and Capitol, but also through numerous Prohibited Areas which are published by the FAA. Some PAs are permanent (like for well-used military practice areas, bombing ranges, etc.). Some are temporary (like around Cape Canaveral when there is a rocket launch).

NoFlyZone replies to this thread! I love it!

Anyways, not much to add here. Sometimes, such zone can exist at borders. For example, between Taiwan and mainland China. Even the recent historic non-stops between the two have to go through Hong Kong airspace.

A route such as Beirut to Amman is rather convoluted as the plane has to skirt around the Mediterranean and almost turn back on itself in an effort to avoid Israeli airspace.

rkkwan, sometimes the temptation is just too much!