Understanding Turbulence and How to Plan for It
If you’re someone who experiences fear or discomfort during airplane turbulence, or if you’re simply a fan of aviation and all its fascinating details, there’s a resource available that can provide you with insights into turbulence conditions. You can use this site to determine if there will be turbulence during your flight and just how strong it may be.
The site in question is Turbli.com. It features an interactive map that provides weather predictions for flights ranging from three hours to a full day prior to the scheduled travel time.
The map uses a colour-coded system to indicate the expected turbulence levels. Blue signifies light turbulence, typically resulting in a flight without any obvious issues. Orange represents moderate turbulence, which you’re likely to feel if you’re moving about the cabin. Red, on the other hand, indicates strong turbulence. In such conditions, fastening your seat belt becomes mandatory, and you may experience sudden altitude changes.
Mapping Your Flight for Potential Turbulence
The website provides three static turbulence maps: one for Europe, one for the USA, and one for the entire world. Besides that, it also offers an option to input your flight’s starting point and final destination. This generates a customised flight path complete with information regarding any probable turbulence.
However, keep in mind that turbulence forecasts for in-flight conditions are only accurate up to two days in advance.
The site pulls its data from the same sources used by pilots and airlines when planning their routes. These include advanced models developed by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the British agency, Met Office.
If flying makes you anxious, it might comfort you to know that extreme turbulence, the kind that makes controlling the aircraft impossible, is a very rare occurrence.
Europe’s 10 Most Turbulent Flight Routes
An analysis of 150,000 short and long flights from 2023 was used to compile a list of the most turbulent routes of the past year. The following are the most turbulent parts of Europe:
- Milan – Geneva
- Milano – Zurich
- Geneva – Zurich
- Marseille – Zurich
- Upper Brnik – Zurich
- Nica – Basel
- Nica – Zurich
- Yerevan – Tbilisi
- Basel – Venice
- Frankfurt na Maini – Caselle Torinese
World’s 10 Most Turbulent Airports in 2023
The following airports were found to be the most turbulent in 2023:
- Santiago, Chile
- Natori, Japan
- Wellington, New Zealand
- Sapporo, Japan
- Osaka, Japan
- Sendai, Japan
- Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
- Tokoname, Japan
- LanzhouuKini
- Tokyo, Japan
- Christchurch, New Zealand