A no-fly zone, also known as a no-flight zone (NFZ), or air exclusion zone (AEZ), is a territory or area established by a military power over which certain aircraft are not permitted to fly.
Holes in the airspace where flights should be usually occur where there’s a risk to safety from events on the ground. Case in point: the escalating conflict in the Middle East.
Such zones are usually set up in an enemy power's territory during a conflict for humanitarian or military reasons without consent of the enemy state, similar in concept to an aerial demilitarized zone, and usually intend to prohibit the enemy's military aircraft from operating in the region.
Military action may be employed by the enforcing state and, depending on the terms of the NFZ, may include preemptive attacks to prevent potential violations, reactive force targeted at violating aircraft, or surveillance with no use of force.
Air exclusion zones and anti-aircraft defenses are sometimes set up in a civilian context, for example to protect sensitive locations, or events such as the 2012 London Olympic Games, against terrorist air attack.
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The current conflict between Iran and Israel is forcing carriers to add two hours to nonstop flights from London to Hong Kong.
A prohibited airspace is an area (volume) of airspace within which flight of aircraft is not allowed, usually due to security concerns.
It is one of many types of special use airspace designations and is depicted on aeronautical charts with the letter "P" followed by a serial number.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA): "Restricted Areas contain airspace of defined dimensions identified by an area on the surface of the earth within which the flight of aircraft is prohibited.
Such areas are established for security or other reasons associated with the national welfare. Some prohibited airspace may be supplemented via NOTAMs.
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Violating prohibited airspace established for national security purposes may result in military interception and/or the possibility of an attack upon the violating aircraft, or if this is avoided then large fines and jail time are often incurred.
Statesmen may think that they can titrate doses of airpower in a way that they cannot do with ground combat.-Thomas A. Keaney and Eliot A. Cohen
A no-fly zone is a designated area where certain aircraft are not allowed to fly, often enforced by military powers to protect civilians or prevent conflict escalation.
Historically, this concept was used during conflicts like the Gulf War and the Bosnian War to limit the ability of hostile forces to conduct air attacks.
It responded to the need for protecting vulnerable populations and curbing military aggression from the skies.
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Today, no-fly zones continue to be relevant as they can protect sensitive areas, like during major international events or near critical infrastructure, ensuring safety from potential threats. For example, during the Olympics, no-fly zones help ensure the security of athletes and spectators by preventing unauthorized aircraft from entering the area.
No-Fly Zone: A territory established by a military power over which aircraft are not permitted to fly.
After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Russian airstrikes began devastating Ukraine's cities, killing scores of civilians in the process.
Zelensky sought is something called a no-fly zone, known in global security lingo as an NFZ, a concept invented in the early 1990s.
A no-fly zone doesn't necessarily have to cover an entire country. Instead, it might only cover a portion where the fighting is occurring.
But either way, a no-fly zone must be enforced by the threat of force.
No-fly zones have only been utilized three times in history - in parts of Iraq, following the 1991 Gulf War; in Bosnia in 1992; and Libya in 2011.
In this article, we'll look at what it requires to impose a no-fly zone, and whether no-fly zones are effective at their intended goal.
In 1991, the no-fly zone in Iraq was part of the cease-fire agreement ending the Gulf War of 1990-1991.
Initially it involved only the northern line at the 36th parallel. A southern no-fly zone was created in 1992 and was extended to the 33rd to protect Shiite Muslims in the southern areas from Iraqi fighter aircraft.
In spring 1991, the United States and allies expelled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's forces from neighboring Kuwait.
In response, Saddam sent helicopter gunships armed with napalm and chemical weapons to rout the rebels.
Hundreds of thousands of Kurdish civilians fled the brutal onslaught, and became trapped on barren hillsides near the Turkish border without food or water.
President George H.W. Bush and his European allies found themselves in an agonizing situation.
In April 1991, the U.N. passed another resolution condemning Hussein's repression of the Kurds and called upon member nations to assist in relief efforts.
In 1992, a second no-fly zone was imposed south of the 33rd parallel, to protect Shi'ite Muslims who had also rebelled.
When Saddam violated the no-fly zones, the coalition forces punished those infractions with force - either by shooting down Iraqi regime aircraft, or by destroying Iraqi military targets with missiles.
The breakup of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, and the bloodshed that resulted, led NATO forces to impose another U.N.-authorized no-fly zone in 1993 over the breakaway region of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Operation Deny Flight was intended to block Bosnian Serbs, who controlled virtually all the military aircraft in the region, from attacking their Muslim neighbors from the air.
After a popular rebellion erupted against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi in the spring of 2011, the U.N. Security Council passed resolution 1973, which banned all flights in Libyan airspace and authorized U.N. or NATO gets the legal authority to impose a no-fly zone.
One source of justification could be Chapter 7, Article 42 of the U.N. Charter, which states that if diplomacy isn't able to resolve a threat to international peace, the U.N.
Thus, the first step to establishing a no-fly zone is to obtain a mandate from the 15-member U.N. Security Council.
That usually requires some deft diplomacy, since any of the five permanent members - the United States, China, Russia, the U.K.
In the case of the Libyan no-fly zone, China and Russia opposed the plan but were persuaded by advocates to abstain from the vote.
However, according to a research briefing released by the U.K. Parliament March 7, 2022, a no-fly resolution also can be established with the consent of the state whose airspace it protects.
Once authority is established, there's also the question of what specific conditions should be imposed.
In Libya in 2011, for example, the U.N. resolution laid out only the most basic parameters.
It banned any flights in Libyan airspace, except for humanitarian missions to deliver medical supplies and food, or to evacuate foreign nationals from the conflict area.
It also authorized member states to enforce the ban, provided that they notify the U.N.
One reason that imposing no-fly zones is so complicated is that the U.N. and the countries who'll provide aircraft, missiles and personnel have to agree on rules of engagement (RoEs), which spell out, among other things, when and how to confront possible violators, how much force can be used against them, and who authorizes taking action in such situations.
Aircraft must patrol no-fly zones to keep enemies from entering the space. Air Force F-16 is seen patrolling the no-fly zone in Northern Iraq.
In Iraq, for example, coalition air forces operated under fairly restrictive rules of engagement so that they were forced to play cat-and-mouse with violators and only whittle away gradually at Iraqi anti-aircraft defenses.
As a result, the first step in Operation Odyssey Dawn, as the 2011 Libyan mission was dubbed, was not a patrol, but an attack.
Navy ships and a British unleashed a barrage of 112 Tomahawk cruise missiles on 20 Libyan military targets, crippling Gaddafi's radar, command-and-control infrastructure and anti-aircraft missile installations.
Navy radar-jamming aircraft began flying over Libya as an added measure to neutralize what remained of Gaddafi's air defenses and to prevent his small air force of aging 1960s-vintage fighter jets from getting into the air.
The air crews who patrolled Libyan airspace had a complicated job.
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