Why Are There Few Air Routes Across the Pacific but Many Over the Arctic?

When you look at a flight map, routes from Seoul to New York, Tokyo to Chicago, or Beijing to San Francisco seem to curve over the Arctic. Yet you’ll hardly find a flight cutting straight across the Pacific. Why is that? In this article, we’ll break down the scientific, geographic, and technical reasons behind this routing strategy.     The Earth Is Round, and Planes Follow Great Circle Routes The Great Circle Route refers to the shortest path between two points on the surface of a sphere. On a 2D map, this looks like a huge curve over the Arctic, but on a 3D globe, it’s the most direct line. Airlines choose Arctic routes to save time and fuel. A seemingly straight line across the Pacific actually becomes longer because of the Earth's curvature. For example, flights like Seoul–New York or Tokyo–Chicago save 1 to 3 hours when following an Arctic route. This is critical for fuel economy and airline profitability.     Lack of Emergency ...