It seems we heard more about turbulence in 2024 than ever before.
Multiple reports of injuries on turbulent flights hit the headlines, including one Singapore Airlines flight where a passenger sadly died. This was the first time a person had been killed on a flight due to turbulence since 1997.
Data from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) suggests that from 2009 to 2023, 37 passengers and 146 crew members were seriously injured due to turbulence, and it remains the single biggest cause of injuries on a commercial flight.
Turbulence can happen anywhere, but certain characteristics can make it more prevalent. So where in Europe are the most turbulent routes, and how do they compare with the rest of the world?
New research from turbulence tracking website Turbli has highlighted which routes in Europe are the most likely to experience bumps. Eight of the top 10 most turbulent routes begin or end in Switzerland, with other routes passing over or around the Alps.
To quantify the likelihood of turbulence, Turbli uses eddy dissipation rate (EDR). This is a measurement of atmospheric turbulence that's independent of the aircraft's characteristics. It's the standard metric for aviation turbulence used by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
In full, the most turbulent routes in Europe in 2024 were:
Nice - Geneva: EDR 16.07
Nice - Zurich: 15.49
Milan - Zurich: 15.41
Milan - Lyon: 15.37
Nice - Basel: 15.33
Geneva - Zurich: 15.05
Nice - Lyon: 14.99
Geneva - Venice: 14.78
Lyon - Zurich: 14.74
Venice - Zurich: 14.67
According to Turbli, anything under an EDR of 20 is considered ‘light,’ with those between 20 and 40 being moderate. No routes in the world ranked as strong (40-60) or extreme (80-100) on a yearly average basis, although some individual incidents may well have crossed these thresholds.
Nevertheless, extreme turbulence is uncommon in Europe, so even these most turbulent routes are unlikely to cause anything like the devastation seen elsewhere in the world.
In comparison, the most turbulent routes in the world were all in South America, crisscrossing the Andes mountain range. The most turbulent route, with an EDR of 24.68, was Mendoza to Santiago, with Cordoba to Santiago in second, and Mendoza to Salta in third.
In general, flying over or near mountains can cause turbulence due to the way the wind interacts with the terrain.
When winds hit a mountainous area, they can be forced to rise upwards over the peaks, causing updraughts. These upwardly mobile currents may then hit a stable air barrier at altitude, forcing them back towards the ground again and creating a downdraught.
High peaks can also create something known as ‘mountain waves,’ caused by
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