Does turbulence scare you?
There is some relief in the form of rankings that show the world's most turbulent airports and routes and at least give nervous passengers the knowledge of where to avoid.
The lists were created by turbulence prediction website turbli.com, which analyzed over 150,000 long-haul and short-haul flight records from 2023 to identify the most turbulent flight routes of the last year and the airports that received the most arrivals and departures.
Eddy Dissipation Rates (EDR) were used to rank the routes. EDR measures the intensity of turbulence at a particular location – 0-20 being mild, 20-40 being moderate, 40-80 being severe and 80-100 being extreme.
The 1,184-mile (1,905 km) route from Santiago, Chile, to Viru Viru International Airport in Santa Cruz, Bolivia was rated the most turbulent in the world, with an EDR of 17.5. The second most difficult is the 210 mile short distance jump from Almaty, Kazakhstan to the capital Bishke (EDR 17.4).
Turbulence prediction website Turbli analyzed over 150,000 flight records from 2023 to identify the most turbulent journeys and the most unsafe airports to land or depart from
MOST TURBULEN ROUTES IN 2023 WORLDWIDE AND IN EUROPE, AMERICA AND OCEANIA
The 10 most turbulent routes in the world
The 10 most turbulent routes in Europe
The 10 most turbulent routes in America
The 10 most turbulent routes in Oceania
The route from Santiago (above) in Chile to Viru Viru International Airport in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, was ranked as the most turbulent in the world
Six of the ten rockiest rides in the world are routes in Japan and China. Turbli attributes this to the strong jet stream activity in these regions, which disrupts the air.
The worst turbulence in Europe as a whole occurred on the 132-mile flight from Milan to Geneva (EDR 16.3) – which ranks as the fifth highest turbulence trajectory in the world overall.
According to Turbli, five of the ten most turbulent routes in Europe started or landed in Zurich, with mountain wave turbulence from the Swiss Alps likely responsible for their strong presence on the list.
The rest of the top 10 Europe rankings include Milan – Zurich (second); Geneva – Zurich (third); Marseille – Zurich (fourth); Zgornji Brnik – Zurich (fifth); Nice – Basel (sixth); Nice – Zurich (seventh); Yerevan – Tbilisi (eighth); Basel – Venezia (9th) and Frankfurt am Main – Caselle Torinese (10th).
The routes across the US were less turbulent than the worst European routes, with the most turbulent American leg, the 441-mile flight from Nashville to Raleigh, achieving an EDR of 14.7. This wouldn't break the top ten on the European list.
The rest of the Americas rankings include Charlotte-Pittsburgh (second); Denver-Puerto Vallarta (third); New York – Raleigh/Durham (fourth); Warwick – Syracuse (fifth); Atlanta-Dulles (sixth); Pittsburgh – Raleigh/Durham (seventh); New York – Portland (eighth); Boston – Syracuse (ninth); and Boston-Philadelphia (10th).
Down Under on the 450 mile flight from Brisbane to Sydney tops the Oceania table with an EDR of 15.3.
The rest of the top five for Oceania includes Port Vila – Auckland (second); Melbourne – Sydney (third); Port Vila – Brisbane (fourth); and Port Vila – Sydney (fifth).
The route from Santiago in Chile to Viru Viru Airport in Bolivia is not only the most turbulent, but Santiago has also been ranked as the most turbulent airport in the world
The routes across the U.S. were less turbulent than the worst European routes, with the most turbulent American leg, the 441-mile flight from Nashville to Raleigh, North Carolina, achieving an EDR of 14.7. This wouldn't break the top ten on the European list
THE MOST TURBULENT AIRPORTS IN 2023 WORLDWIDE AND IN EUROPE, AMERICA AND OCEANIA
The 10 most turbulent airports in the world
The 10 most turbulent airports in Europe
The 10 Most Turbulent Airports in North America
The 10 most turbulent airports in Oceania
The worst turbulence in Europe overall occurred on the 132-mile flight path from Milan (above) to Geneva (EDR 16.3) – which ranks as the world's fifth highest turbulence trajectory overall
How do pilots deal with turbulence?
A serving captain shares four methods for dealing with turbulence:
1. Grin and bear it – the aircraft is more than capable of handling the stresses associated with turbulence (although severe turbulence can be quite unpleasant and is best avoided for passenger comfort).
2. Try to fly higher (if aircraft performance allows) or lower (although this will use more fuel and may make the situation worse).
3. Fly at aircraft turbulence penetration speed – generally slightly slower than normal cruising speed
4. Turn to avoid the area of turbulence if it is localized (e.g. near a thunderstorm).
If you're particularly worried about a rough landing or takeoff, Turbli has also identified the world's most turbulent airports.
Number one in the global ranking is Santiago Chile, where the EDR is 17.1. She attributes this meteorological phenomenon to the fact that the surrounding Andes cause turbulence through mountain waves.
The remaining top five airports in the bumpiest global airport rankings include Natori, Japan (second); Wellington (third); Sapporo, Japan (fourth) and Osaka (fifth).
In Europe, Vienna leads the table (EDR 14.8), followed by Zurich, Marseille and Geneva, while in the USA, Portland proves to be the shakiest place to start (EDR 15.2), followed by Denver (second); Las Vegas (third); Vancouver (fourth); Salt Lake City (fifth); Prince George (sixth); Calgary (seventh); Quebec (eighth); Reno (ninth); and Seattle (10th).
In the Southern Hemisphere, New Zealand's Wellington Airport is the most turbulent in Oceania, with an EDR of 16.3.
Turbli's reporting is likely to prove increasingly relevant to jetsetters as global warming has led to an increase in the severity of turbulence, according to scientists.
Research from the University of Reading shows that in-flight turbulence is increasing, with severe turbulence having increased by 55 percent since 1979.
However, you can take comfort in knowing that while turbulence can be unpleasant and frightening, it is extremely unlikely that your plane will crash.
As one captain of a long-distance Dreamliner who spoke to Web said: “As far as what it could do to you, yes it's unpleasant, nobody likes being thrown up and down like that, or very few do People do it, but it's not unsafe.” “Planes like flying, they don't like falling out of the sky, and you have to put in quite a bit of effort to get them to do that.”
The 450-mile flight from Brisbane to Sydney ranks among the most turbulent routes in Oceania
What effects can turbulence have on the airframe?
He did not say anything. If the plane breaks up, you'll be dead anyway.'
He showed that pilots basically have four options for dealing with turbulence.
He said: “You can smile and bear it – the aircraft is more than capable of handling the stresses associated with turbulence – although severe turbulence can be quite unpleasant and is best avoided for passenger comfort.” You can try to fly higher – if the aircraft performance allows this – or to fly lower, although this will use more fuel and potentially make the situation worse.
“You can fly at the turbulence penetration speed of the aircraft – generally slightly slower than normal cruising speed – or turn around to avoid the area of turbulence if it is localized, such as near a thunderstorm.”
WHAT IS TURBULENCE?
According to the Met Office, turbulence refers to anything that changes the airflow around an aircraft. When airflow becomes chaotic, fast-flowing, or swirling, it can cause an aircraft to suddenly wobble back and forth, whether lurching forward, jerking from side to side, or making a sudden “plunge.”
It has several causes, from the change in wind speed and lateral position (called “wind shear”), increased drag in the aircraft due to heavy clouds, wind updrafts when flying over mountains, and other aircraft flying nearby causing the wind' migrate'.