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Many individuals find turbulence to be the most unpleasant aspect of air travel. While it occurs quite frequently, it can still cause alarm and anxiety, even for experienced flyers.
However, it is frequently misinterpreted. It poses minimal danger to present-day commercial airplanes, and most injuries occur when individuals are not properly restrained in their seats.
According to the US National Weather Service, turbulence is characterized as a phenomenon resulting from sudden and irregular movements of air, which can produce sudden upward and downward drafts and have the potential to catch aircraft off guard.
The most frequently encountered type, known as clear air turbulence (CAT), is described by the Federal Aviation Administration as “abrupt and intense turbulence that occurs in areas without clouds and causes strong jolting of the aircraft.” The FAA also notes that this type of turbulence is particularly problematic because it is often encountered unexpectedly and without any visual indicators.
What are the chances of experiencing turbulence during a flight and which routes are most prone to it? We provide the answers to these important inquiries.
Can turbulence result in a plane crash? What is turbulence?
What is the probability of me experiencing severe turbulence?
Although most flyers have experienced mild turbulence, severe turbulence is much less common. According to statistics, only one out of every 50,000 flights is affected by severe turbulence.
Due to the effects of global warming, there is a possibility of a slight increase in turbulence in the coming years. Based on data collected by the Federal Aviation Administration over the past 16 years, the average annual number of injuries caused by severe turbulence in the US is 33.
In June, a British Airways flight from Singapore to London had to return to its departure airport because of strong turbulence.
What are the ideal (and not-so-ideal) seating locations during turbulence?
For the best flight, try to reserve a seat near the middle of the plane’s wingspan. This will ensure a smoother journey as being closer to the plane’s center of mass reduces the impact of external factors like wind, drag, and lift.
Furthermore, the front of the aircraft is less affected by turbulence compared to the seats in the back. This is because the tail of the plane experiences a greater impact from wind.
Which are the most chaotic flight paths across the globe?
According to Turbli, a turbulence prediction website that has examined approximately 150,000 routes, the most turbulent trips of 2023 have been identified. These routes are organized based on their “eddy dissipation rate”, a metric used by Turbli’s founder, Ignacio Gallego Marcos, to measure the intensity of turbulence at a specific location.
The 1,180-mile trip from Santiago to Viru Viru International Airport in Bolivia was deemed the most turbulent, while the route between Almaty, Kazakhstan and the capital of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek, took second place.
Traveling above high-altitude regions like the Andes can significantly impact the level of turbulence experienced.
Six of the most turbulent journeys were domestic routes in Japan and China (four involved routes taking off or landing at Lanzhou or Chengdu or Xianyang), while two European routes also featured. Milan to Geneva is the most turbulent route in Europe (and fifth-most turbulent in the world for 2023), while Milan to Zurich came in at tenth.
According to Mr. Gallego Marcos, routes that traverse the Andes or Alps are ranked high because of turbulence caused by mountain waves, while routes in Japan and China experience turbulence due to strong jet stream activity. The Met Office describes the jet stream as a band of powerful winds located around five to seven miles above the Earth’s surface, blowing from west to east.
This helps to clarify the frequent appearance of certain airports in the continent-specific lists. For instance, Zurich appears five times in the top 10 most turbulent routes in Europe, while Santiago, the capital of Chile, appears in five of the top 10 most turbulent journeys in South America.
According to Turbli data, these are the ten most tumultuous trips around the globe in their entirety:
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1. Flight from Santiago (SCL) to Santa Cruz (VVI)
2. Almaty (ALA) – Bishkek (FRU)
3. Lanzhou (LHW) – Chengdu (CTU)
Centrair Airport (NGO) to Sendai Airport (SDJ)
5. Milan (MXP) – Geneva (GVA)
6. Lanzhou (LHW) – Xianyang (XIY)
7. Osaka (KIX) – Sendai (SDJ)
8. Xianyang (XIY) – Chengdu (CTU)
9. Flights from Xianyang to Chongqing
10. Milan (MXP) – Zurich (ZRH)
Source: independent.co.uk
