Featured Image Credit: Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Topics: World News, Travel, News
Rhianna Benson
Topics: World News, Travel, News
After Flight Radar released an image of the dispersion of the commercial flights around the world right now, a number of frequent fliers have been unnerved by one creepy detail.
For those in need of a reminder, Flight Radar is the global flight tracking website that tracks the whereabouts of jets in terms of their placement in the air at any given moment, and illustrates the business of the world's skies.
The aerospace technology firm often share images of these maps on social media - particularly when the vast array of commercial engines coincidentally create some sort of recognisable shape or picture.
Such was the case several hours ago, when Flight Radar shared their map on X (formerly Twitter), with four very visible holes emerging, creating a deeply unsettling image that many viewers couldn't help but pick up on.
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Two gaps beside one another - one in Eastern Europe and another in East Asia - appeared to resemble two eyes, especially when placed just above another hole in the Middle East.
A third, considerably larger gap could be visible in the middle regions of Africa.
And if you haven't yet put these four empty spaces together, many believe they appear to resemble a skull.
"Anyone else see the skull face?" one social media user asked in the comments.
Another simply added three skull and cross bone emojis to the thread.
"Like a skull," noted a third, whilst another suggested a similar notion: "Looks like my kids jack o lantern on November 1st."
There are several reasons for such glaring gaps in Flight Radar's disturbing map, but let's consider the skull's 'left eye' first - the one closest west.
Arguably the most obvious hole is Ukraine, following its invasion by Russia in 2022.
Many airlines have also avoided the eastern area of the country since a Malaysian Airlines flight was shot down in 2014 amid the armed conflict between pro-Russian rebels.
Following the country's invasion three years ago, however, the entirely of the Ukrainian airspace was closed for civil flights.
Conflict is also the reason why the skull has a predominantly empty 'mouth' area in the middle of Africa, but as Flight Radar point out - the issue isn't just flying over conflict, but potentially having to land in the middle of it.
As such, many flights avoid areas surrounding Libya, as well as Sudan, due to the rise in civil conflicts in these areas. Flights travelling over Algeria, north Mali, north Niger and Chad are also somewhat of a rarity for this reason.
Such is also the case with the skull's 'nose', with many airlines refusing to fly over areas of the Middle East amidst the ongoing conflict in Gaza, as well as Israel's missile launch upon Iran over the weekend.
When it comes the skull's 'right eye', geography is the reason for another glaring gap.
The final empty space is actually Tibet. Known fully as the Tibet Autonomous Region, the space is actually part of the People's Republic of China, but due to its harsh and rugged terrain, it's notoriously difficult to get to and fly over.
It isn't because the area's mountains are too tall, however.
Planes usually travel at between 35-40,000 feet through areas of sky with very minimal oxygen, which explains why all aircrafts have oxygen on board. As such, in depressurisation events, it's essential for pilots to lower their engines to 10,000, so that the lack of oxygen doesn't begin affecting passengers' brains.
The issue with Tibet, however, is that the majority of the country is already 10,000 feet above sea level, so getting down to a safe altitude without hitting the ground is pretty much impossible.
The more you know, eh?