The 13 Places in the U.S. That Planes Can’t Fly Over

Chances are excellent that you’ve heard of “no-fly zones.”

Also known as “no-flight zones,” or “air exclusion zones,” they are areas or territories established by a military or political power that certain aircraft aren’t allowed to fly over, either “at all” or, more often, under a certain amount of feet.

Many countries have no-fly zones, which can be broken down into (in layman’s terms):

• no one can fly over this place, ever
• no one can fly over this place, for now
• specific entities can’t fly over this place
• you can fly over this place but it can’t be under X amount of feet

Countries with No-Fly Zones

Frankly, many countries that have no-fly zones probably wouldn’t be surprising. They include:

• China (Tiananmen Square)
• Cuba (any unscheduled aircraft)
• Finland (multiple nuclear power plants)
• France (with some exceptions, all of Paris)
• Greece (over the Parthenon, below 5,000 feet)
• Hungary (Budapest, atomic bunkers, military areas and some historic spots)
• India (military, historic areas and nuclear installations)
• Iran (missile base)
• Ireland (specific prisons)
• Israel (nuclear plants, military installations. All aircraft from Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Libya, Tunisia, Malaysia, Yemen, Angeria, Mali, Niger, Mauritania and Bangledesh are also not allowed to fly over Israeli airspace.)
• Pakistan (Specifically along Constitution Avenue in NE Islamabad)
• Peru (Machu Picchu)
• Poland (Temporary flight restrictions over any publicly announced event in a stadium (capacity) or plaza (expected attendance) exceeds 20,000 people by a radius of 5 nautical miles (9.2km) under a height of 5,000 feet)
• Russia (aircraft registered in or operated by the Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and the European Union member states can’t fly over Russia’s airspace. Russian aircraft are also not allowed to fly over about 40 countries.
• Saudi Arabia (important religious buildings)
• South Korea (DMZ)
• Sri Lanka (any unscheduled aircraft)
• Taiwan (specific political and nuclear sites)
• Tibet (air safety due to high elevation)
• Turkey (Imlali Island)
• Ukraine (Russian aircraft is prohibited)
• United Kingdom (royal/political and nuclear site)
• United States

And the United States

Of course, it’s no surprise that some areas with political references, and nuclear areas, in the U.S. have no-fly zone status. We’ll list those first.

• Thurmont, Maryland (site of Camp David) – Surface to 5,000 feet
• Amarillo, Texas (site of Pantex nuclear assembly plant) – Surface to unlimited
• Washington D.C. (well, duh!) – Surface to 18,000 feet
• Area 51 (again duh!) – Surface to unlimited
• Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in St. Marys, Georgia – Surface to 3,000 feet
• Naval Base Kitsap across Elliott Bay from Seattle, Washington – Surface to 3,000 feet
• Kennedy Space Center (Cape Canaveral, Florida) – Surface to 5,000 feet; sometimes changed to unlimited height when rocket taking off

But there are a few other places that might surprise you (or might not, if you know your stuff)

Disneyland (Anaheim, CA) & Walt Disney World (Lake Buena Vista, FL)

Many people already know about this one, so we’ll put it first. The story behind it interesting, though.

The two parks were originally included in what was initially a “temporary” air-safety-focused act of Congress, Operation Liberty Shield, enacted in 2003 in the wake of 9/11. It made sense…Disney parks are some of the country’s most major, and culturally significant, tourist destinations in the country. And although “temporary,” it’s still stuck, 22 years later…despite some religious and political groups threatening to have it removed for their own religious or political reasons.

Anyway, besides safety, Disney also has a more self-serving reason for not having planes fly overhead. Throughout the 1970s, 80s and ’90s, Disney was plagued by aerial advertisements, including religious and political messages and ads for competitors flying over their parks. The no-fly zone is a way to keep those ads at bay.

Not surprisingly, the Disney no-fly zones have very specific rules. No one is allowed to fly from the surface up to 3,000 feet above the ground within a 3-nautical mile radius of the center of the circle. So, as long as a plane, helicopter, etc., is over 3,000 feet off the ground, they can still fly over the parks.

The Bush Compound (Kennebunkport, ME) & Bush Ranch (Crawford, TX)

Although official political entities, such as the White House and Camp David, have no-fly zones, presidents’ personal homes don’t always get that distinction. But the Bushes do.

The Bush Family Compound, located in Maine, has been in the Bush family for over a century and was George The Older’s summer home when he was alive. The compound is still used by the Bushes, who continue to host dignitaries and celebrities.

The Bush Ranch, in Texas, was bought by George The Younger in the late 1990s. Like their Maine property, the Bushes continue to host important people, so they get to keep their no-fly zone.

The restrictions for both are surface to 1,000 feet.

George Washington’s Home (Mt. Vernon, VA)

The surface-to-1,500-feet no-fly zone over George Washington’s house has nothing to do with politics. It’s there because our first president’s home, built between 1758 and 1778, is not in the greatest of conditions. However, it’s an important historical landmark and there’s concern that the vibrations from planes overhead would cause further damage.

Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (Northern Minnesota)

Not many National Parks have no-fly zones, but this one did, in 1948. President Harry Truman signed the executive order making it so.

The restrictions are surface to 4,000 feet.

Other no-fly zones in the U.S.

There are many other no-fly zones in the U.S. that occur very temporarily:

• Airports and other areas where important political figures are scheduled to be
• The areas surrounding where World Series, MLS Cup Final, Super Bowl, College Football Playoff National Championship, NASCAR Grand Slam races, WrestleMania, or Olympic Games are playing.

Final note about no-fly zones in the U.S.

Although no-fly zones are in place, if the pilot primarily controls and navigates the aircraft using only instruments and not visual references to the outside world, pilots CAN fly through/over no-fly zones if air traffic control (ATC) tells them to. We have friends who have flown into Kissimmee airport (which is a bit southeast of WDW) and gone through WDW’s no-fly zone because ATC told them to.

*** Many thanks to Stephan the thermostat breaker for their assistance with this fly-by-night blog post 😉

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