If the hassle of check-in, security and potential delays is not enough to ruin a flight experience, air passengers on certain routes are more likely than others to encounter turbulence on their flights. A new report reveals the bumpiest routes, so buckle up and see if your next flight is on the list.
Travel tool Turbli, which forecasts turbulence, analyzed the historical turbulence levels of 150,000 airline routes to see which ones are most likely to experience a wild ride. Routes were assigned an eddy dissipation rate, indicating the level of turbulence. The turbulence levels are defined as light (0-20), moderate (20-40), severe (40-80) and extreme (80-100).
First, what is turbulence? The FAA defines turbulence as “air movement created by atmospheric pressure, jet streams, air around mountains, cold or warm weather fronts or thunderstorms. It can be unexpected and can happen when the sky appears to be clear.”
Turbli’s analysis determined that the most turbulent route in the U.S. is Nashville to Raleigh/Durham. Passengers traveling between these two cities are most likely to experience a bumpy ride. The remaining nine of the top 10 routes with the highest rates of turbulence are Charlotte to Pittsburgh, Denver to Puerto Vallarta, New York to Raleigh/Durham, Warwick to Syracuse, Atlanta to Dulles, Pittsburgh to Raleigh/Durham, New York to Portland (Maine), Boston to Syracuse and Boston to Philadelphia.
Find the full report, which also includes international routes, here.