The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported growing interest in its Turbulence Aware Platform, with six additional airlines, including British Airways and Singapore Airlines, joining in 2024.
At the Global Media Day in Geneva, it was revealed that how platform enhances aviation safety by pooling anonymized turbulence data, allowing pilots to optimize flight paths, which improves fuel efficiency and reduces CO2 emissions.
As its membership increases, Turbulence Aware enhances data quality, contributing to overall improvements in turbulence management, which is crucial given the projected rise in air travel demand and changing weather patterns.
Collaborations with companies like The Weather Company and Lufthansa Systems have expanded data transmission capabilities, providing pilots with seamless access to turbulence information integrated into their current operational workflows.
Recent instances of freak turbulence include a Turkish Airlines flight attendant suffering a broken back and eight passengers ending up in the hospital on a turbulent Qatar Airways flight, with unseatbelted passengers being launched into the cabin roof.
Out of the 400m flights that took place between 2009 and 2022, there were – according to data from the Federal Aviation Administration (the US’ regulatory body) – 34 passengers and 129 crew members recorded as seriously injured due to turbulence.
Turbulence is a normal part of flying caused by nature and is generally uncomfortable but rarely dangerous, with a low number of injuries recorded due to turbulence compared with the number of flights.
The last previous fatality caused by turbulence on a commercial flight was in 1997, during United Airlines’ Flight 826 from Tokyo to Honolulu, until a tragic incident on Singapore Airlines’ flight SQ321 in May (six counties): where one passenger died and many were injured due to severe turbulence.
