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Flyover Countries

Flying the shortest distance between each of the city pairs below, what is the only country you would fly over?
Obviously not counting the countries of the cities themselves
Quiz by
Jerry928
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Last updated: August 2, 2019
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First submittedJune 10, 2019
Times taken50,644
Average score75.0%
Rating4.68
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Clue
Country
Naples, Lisbon
Spain
Dublin, Oslo
United Kingdom
Brasilia, Lima
Bolivia
Canberra, Singapore
Indonesia
Cairo, Amman
Israel
Bangkok, Hanoi
Laos
London, Berlin
Netherlands
Algiers, Tirana
Italy
Budapest, Warsaw
Slovakia
Caracas, Quito
Colombia
Moscow, Helsinki
Estonia
Astana, Ulaanbaatar
Russia
Kabul, New Delhi
Pakistan
Wellington, Buenos Aires
Chile
Cape Town, Harare
Botswana
Lagos, Benghazi
Niger
Khartoum, Doha
Saudi Arabia
Chennai, Shanghai
Myanmar
Los Angeles, Beijing
Russia
New York, Bordeaux
Canada
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62 Comments
toowise
+37
Level 81
Jun 10, 2019
Nice Quiz, got the old brain cells working
Sifhraven
+27
Level 76
Jun 13, 2019
Mine wouldnt fire up..
GeoDoggo
+2
Level 21
Aug 24, 2021
creative quiz am i righ tho
nickfarmer
+3
Level 51
Jun 10, 2019
Nice!
kaderschaufel
+9
Level 72
Jun 11, 2019
are you sure you wouldn't touch a bit of Croatia when flying from Algiers to Sarajevo?
Jerry928
+7
Level 76
Jun 11, 2019
Oops, you would! We updated the clue, and now there's definitely just one possible answer!
scambigol
+3
Level 80
Jun 11, 2019
nice, clever idea!
mf3
+25
Level 90
Jun 12, 2019
Funny part is, you CAN'T fly over Saudi Arabia between Khartoum and Doha, since Saudi Arabia prohibits overflights going to or from Qatar!
BolyaiAnna
+30
Level 87
Jun 12, 2019
It's all about flying as if you were a bird, not a plane
roleybob
+38
Level 73
Jun 13, 2019
What about if you're superman?
kalbahamut
+34
Level 79
Aug 10, 2019
Countries in the region have accused birds of being Israeli spies before so that might not be allowed, either.
Oatmeal11
+7
Level 78
Mar 3, 2021
But Supermans are OK, right?
Dougnut
+2
Level 57
Apr 17, 2025
Those are Cryptonian spies
Charliezard
+3
Level 67
May 27, 2022
Supermen* ???
InterAlia
+2
Level 83
May 11, 2025
Superpersonnel
thekirkby
+5
Level 40
Aug 12, 2019
Also, having flown from Cairo to Amman, flights must go over to the red sea then up. They are not allowed to enter Israeli airspace.
MiaTheGoose
+3
Level 67
Sep 14, 2020
Interesting, especially considering that both Jordan and Egypt have diplomatic relations with Israel
Trombone
+4
Level 61
Dec 2, 2021
not necessarily good ones
sillie
+8
Level 75
Jun 12, 2019
I assume there's some curvature of the Earth at play here, because just on a map I don't see immediately how the last two ones work. Also the line Google Maps draws goes across both Japan and North Korea, but not Russia for LA - Beijing. For New York - Bordeaux it can't do it at all.
stevediverse
+19
Level 86
Jun 12, 2019
The shortest path between 2 points on the surface of a sphere is a curved line, because the surface is curved. Flat maps are extremely inaccurate. Flat maps are a rectangle, but if you peeled the skin off of a sphere, you would not get a rectangle (try wrapping a ball with a sheet of paper - no cutting, folding, or overlapping). Here's the shortest flight path between New York (JFK) and Bordeaux (BOD) http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=jfk-bod
JWC1202
+2
Level 76
Jun 13, 2019
Interesting, but the flight plan brings up another problem as it appears to take you over Saint Pierre and Miquelon, which are part of France not Canada. Is it a bit hard to tell, though, as I can't zoom in.
Jerry928
+5
Level 76
Jun 13, 2019
The direct path passes about 30 km south of St Pierre and Miquelon.
Moos1005
+26
Level 89
Jun 13, 2019
Even if the path touched St. Pierre and Miquelon it would not be a problem since your flight ends in France.
polygong
+1
Level 56
May 11, 2025
From what I see on Google Maps, the great circle path goes over the south east corner of Newfoudland, which is in Canada.
Sagaris
+2
Level 68
Nov 29, 2019
http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=lax-pek
KoljiVriVoda
+3
Level 81
Jun 12, 2019
NIce. More!
Jerry928
+4
Level 76
Jun 13, 2019
OK, here is a second one - a tougher one for geography experts!
cshtthomas
+4
Level 61
Jun 12, 2019
Actually the answers of Estonia and Botswana just hit the tip of country. And Eritrea and Bangladesh are near misses of the answers of Saudi Arabia and Myanmar respectively. A mind-blowing quiz!
WanderingWalrus
+2
Level 82
Jun 12, 2019
Great idea for a quiz. I second KoljiVriVoda in asking for more. I posted a comment that you could fly from Wellington to Buenos Aires only crossing Australia, but then noticed that the instructions said shortest route. Luckily I deleted the comment before anyone noticed.
kogatora
+11
Level 96
Jun 12, 2019
good thing you didn't repost so people can see it
Sifhraven
+2
Level 76
Jun 13, 2019
:D
Vincentdc
+2
Level 83
Jun 13, 2019
when mapping rome - lisbon (fco-lis) i'm hitting corsica (france) as well.

maybe change that one?

http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=fco-lis&MS=wls&DU=mi

Jerry928
+4
Level 76
Jun 13, 2019
Oops, and LOL all at once: as of now 631 takers have answered this quiz, 99% of whom guessed "Spain" - and all 99% of them are wrong! (including me when I wrote this). The direct line from Lisbon to Rome also transits Corsica. We've updated the clue, which will bring everyone's answers back onside.
hashtagnotmyreal
+2
Level 74
Jun 13, 2019
I think the NY Paris flight crosses Cornwall in the UK as well.

https://www.distance.to/New-York-City,New-York,NY,USA/Paris,%C3%8Ele-de-France,FRA

Jerry928
+6
Level 76
Jun 13, 2019
It does. Now you know why we chose Bordeaux, to ensure a single country transit!
IsleAuHaulte
+2
Level 92
Jun 14, 2019
The little caveat seems obvious, but can you imagine the goober flapping without it?
Jerry928
+4
Level 76
Jun 14, 2019
What on earth does that mean (and which country are you in where it means that?!). I, and everyone else in New Zealand, will give you a blank look when they hear that.
samiamco
+4
Level 68
Jun 15, 2019
I don’t understand it either (I’m American), but I gotta admit, I kinda like it.
cornflakesfu
+2
Level 89
Jun 15, 2019
Just flapping my goober here (am I using that right?), but not only is the caveat obvious, it's also grammatically incorrect: the repetition of "in which" and "in" is redundant.
Jerry928
+2
Level 76
Jun 15, 2019
Point taken. We've lodged a grammatical refinement. FYI, in New Zealand, a goober is a ball of spit, which is why it sounds a bit cringeworthy to us.
kalbahamut
+2
Level 79
Aug 10, 2019
easy. only had to guess a little bit on the last two.
SWATkun
+2
Level 59
Aug 10, 2019
Can't wait for part 2
Jerry928
+2
Level 76
Aug 24, 2021
OK, here's #2 - have fun
seabird
+1
Level 69
Aug 11, 2019
Nice quiz. I could have used another minute. I didn't have time for the last 5 and skipped two along the way.
clivey
+1
Level 69
Aug 24, 2021
Great quiz idea. Could be a series of them, and increase the number of countries flying over to 2, 3...
Billy1970
+1
Level 59
Aug 24, 2021
from New York to france is only the atlantic ocean!
polygong
+1
Level 56
May 11, 2025
On a flat map perhaps, but on a globe it goes over a small part of Canada
perfectbalance
+1
Level 62
Aug 24, 2021
Excellent, super innovative! The reason why I visit Jetpunk.
Elboy
+1
Level 75
Aug 24, 2021
Thank you for this great quiz!
Alexquiz17
+1
Level 95
Aug 26, 2021
Great quiz, as soon as I figured out that it's Great Circle courses rather than Mercator!
Gllombfek
+1
Level 54
Aug 26, 2021
Suggestion to add: NYC to Dublin, with the answer being: Canada!
Philguypi
+1
Level 48
Nov 30, 2021
I made This Quiz which is similar, but instead of two different cities, you name all the countries you fly over between any two points inside inhabited US territory.
malleo
+1
Level 70
Feb 23, 2022
Nice quizz!
Kenneth3748
+1
Level 52
May 9, 2022
I think either you shouldnt have 90% of the quiz capital cities or just do all capital cities for the name.
Gllombfek
+2
Level 54
Aug 6, 2022
To all people complaining, I have checked each pair, and they all appear to be correct (it is extremely close for Helsinki-Moscow, but still correct). You can look at the images here.
abracadabrant
+3
Level 54
Feb 19, 2023
Fun fact: the shortest direct path from Auckland, NZ to Dakar doesn't pass over any other countries and you can fly from Durban, SA to Hawaii and only pass over Australia
Algernon
+1
Level 74
Aug 17, 2023
The same answer is used twice, for the second and penultimate questions on the second column.
Wistful
+1
Level 72
May 3, 2024
To be fair, it's a pretty big country. Since this is a yellow box quiz, it's not a problem.
Jerry928
+1
Level 76
Mar 13, 2025
Who says it shouldn't?
bakainu
+1
Level 70
Mar 13, 2025
In what world would LA-Beijing only go over Canada?

(I fly NAmerica to Asia quite a bit; I do know about the curved flight paths)

The direct path seems to go over the Pacific and Japan/North Korea. North over Canada would take you through Russia too

Jerry928
+3
Level 76
Mar 13, 2025
Double-check the answer, and you'll find it answers your own question
cheesy419
+1
Level 41
Oct 2, 2025
I don't see why you would cross Canada in a direct connection also since the Japanese island of Karafuto is unrightfully occupied by Russia (they call it Sakhalin) you technically also don't cross Japan but Russia instead but I agree that you definetly have to cross the Korean peninsula.
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