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There have been many instances in the history of the World Wars when there have been airstrikes at a particular place acting it to cause massive disruptions which were almost unrecoverable. The deadliest wars were based on these particular strategies.
There were no such limitations in the early period that prohibited people to not fly their aircraft on a particular country's land. As time passed and the nations gained experiences of friends turning into foes and attacking relentlessly to gain power, wealth and fame, then not to forget The Cold War in particular that initiated the NO-FLY ZONES due to the increase in tension between the United States and the Soviet Union with a potential lead to nuclear destruction.
This led to the initiation of the NO-FLY ZONES. While this phenomenon is modernly conceptualised by the United Nations which was formed to protect the humanitarian rights of the citizens of the nations. It proscribed the aircraft to fly above a particular land owned by the nation or for instance within the nation to secure the rights and safety of the nation and its members. They also withhold the policy of prevention from deadly terrorist attacks which could have can be carried out by aircraft and drones in the modern era.
Countries still facing armed atrocities especially have a large number of area that is considered as a no-fly zone.
As mentioned above these zones were for the protection of humanitarian rights in the earlier stages, now it has moved on more other reasons for the establishment of such zones. It ranges from a variety of reasonings like Natural establishments or political and military undertaking.
For a case take the Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders of the world located in Agra, India. The place comes with abundant importance to the nation, for its heritage and its contribution to tourism therefore, it is protected at all costs. Categorizing it as one of the no-fly zones is a step towards the protection of the monument from any attacks to destroy the reputation of the country.
But another query you may have is how do we get the drone shots of such monuments, well, you can fly drones at certain allotted feet which again is prescribed by the government ensuring safety at all costs. Almost all such important heritage of a country is given the no-fly zone to protect it. And even if the drones are allowed to shoot the monument, there is a specific feet limit that cannot be extended, if done so there can several consequences that the pilot may face.
Then comes the restrictions on flying an aircraft due to the military areas and certain amount of land used for technological intelligence testing of a country, such an example can be AREA 51, it prohibits all kinds of aircraft as it is used for testing military technology such as the U-2 Spy Plane program in the 1950s.
Another dimension to the prohibition is the safety of the people who lead the country or people who have a heavy influence on the political decisions of a nation or are famous monarchs, for instance, Queen Elizabeth. She resides in Windsor Castle along with her family.
To ensure the safety of the residents it is a no-fly zone.
A further dimension of the prohibition is the safety of the pilot or the passengers of the plane. North Korea is the perfect example of such a region. Pyongyang Airspace is heavily avoided by all airlines and even the UN as the country tests its missiles in the most unexpected way there is. There are no prior warnings given which makes it very risky to enter the airspace region. Similar countries with no-fly zones are Libya, Israel, Ukraine, Northern Ethiopia.
While these are strictly the no-fly zones, some countries have a warning issued, which means if there is an aircraft that flies above it, there isn't any guarantee of the wellbeing of the pilot or the passengers. Examples are Kenya, Mali, Syria and Iran.
To respect the religious sentiments and beliefs of the people aircraft are not allowed to fly above any holy places to worship. Mecca, Varanasi are some of such places which are protected from any external forces that can cause potential harm to it. The nearest airport is considered for arriving then there are buses or any private vehicles that take you to the particular place.
The United Nations' aviation body, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), has a set of rules in place called the Freedoms of the Air, which let nations grant rights to each other's airlines to use their airspace through treaties. Taiwanese airlines cannot fly over China's airspace, and so have to take longer routes to Europe, Air India was granted special permission to take the New Delhi-To-Tel Aviv services.
There are many more such examples in which there are permissions to be taken to fly in a country's airspace and let us not forget how much profit the countries earn by doing so even though the aircraft doesn't even make it to their mainland but has to pass through the water bodies under its control.
In the case of the United States, it can start charging $US26.41 per 100 nautical miles (185 kilometres) when an airline goes through the vast area of the Pacific Ocean that its airspace covers.
Do you think it is a policy that is endorsing the protection of Humanitarian rights and safeguarding us from any potential threats or is it just the economic profit that matters?
Let us know your views in the comment section below!