Flyover country and flyover states are Americanism

American English

American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of the world's native speakers of English live in the United States....

s describing the region of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 between the East

East Coast of the United States

The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...

 and the West Coasts

West Coast of the United States

West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...

. The terms, which are often used in a pejorative

Pejorative

Pejoratives , including name slurs, are words or grammatical forms that connote negativity and express contempt or distaste. A term can be regarded as pejorative in some social groups but not in others, e.g., hacker is a term used for computer criminals as well as quick and clever computer experts...

 sense, refer to the regions of the country passed over during transcontinental flights – e.g., flights between the nation's two largest cities, New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 and Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

. Flyover country thus refers to the part of the country that many Americans only view by air and never actually see in person at ground level.

When the term flyover states is used, it most commonly refers to the midwestern states. This is because much of this region is sparsely populated relative to the coasts and tend to be mostly rural, thus much less likely to be traveling destinations or starting points. Yet many domestic flights have to fly over these states due to their geographic placement while relatively fewer actually take-off or land in these areas.

See also

• Middle America
• Heartland
  Heartland (United States)
  Heartland is an American term referring to states of the Union that – as in the words of one commentator – "don't touch an ocean," whether the Atlantic or Pacific...
  
  
• Hinterland
  Hinterland
  The hinterland is the land or district behind a coast or the shoreline of a river. Specifically, by the doctrine of the hinterland, the word is applied to the inland region lying behind a port, claimed by the state that owns the coast. The area from which products are delivered to a port for...
  
  
• Backcountry
  Backcountry
  A backcountry area in general terms is a geographical region that is:* isolated* remote* undeveloped* difficult to accessThe term may apply to various regions that are reasonably close to urban areas but are:* not immediately accessible by car...
  
  
• Backwaters
• Red States