Air turbulence is a common phenomenon in aviation, occurring when an aircraft flies through relatively disturbed air, causing sudden lateral and vertical jolts. Turbulent weather is the main cause of injuries to crew and passengers during a flight, with eight types including thunderstorms, thermal, frontal, and "mountain wave," which fall under six categories of intensity. The question travelers often have is which flight paths experience this phenomenon the most and which are the most turbulent in the world. To answer this, the Swedish website Turbli provides insights based on data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the UK's Met Office.
### The Most Turbulent Flight Routes
In 2023, the most turbulent air route was from Santiago, the capital of Chile, to Santa Cruz, the capital of Bolivia, in Latin America. This was followed by the route from Almaty, the capital of Kazakhstan, to Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan; from Lanzhou to Chengdu in China; and from Centrair to Sendai in Japan. In Europe, the route from Milan, Italy, to Geneva, Switzerland, was also noted, with the Milan to Zurich route ranked tenth in terms of turbulence.
### The Most Turbulent Countries
According to the website, the most turbulent countries were French Polynesia, Fiji, Pakistan, Namibia, and Uruguay. The South Pacific was classified as the most turbulent ocean for aerial travel. No locations exceeded the light turbulence dissipation rate of 20 EDR, while severe turbulence occurs above 80 EDR. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau reported that in 2023, there were 3,047 incidents involving commercial aircraft worldwide, with 236 of those cases attributed to weather conditions.
### Where Is Air Turbulence Most Common?
Generally, turbulence is expected over high mountains, oceans, the equator, and when entering jet streams, according to Dr. Guido Carim Jr., head of Griffith Aviation at Griffith University, as reported by The Guardian. However, significant turbulence caused by sudden changes in wind direction can occur anywhere at any time.
