MORE ADVANCES ON TURBULENCE

The airline industry is well aware of the threat of air turbulence, especially given the recent increase in events so severe that cabin injuries have been reported. IATA should be commended for its positive, aggressive, remedial actions to deal with these risks. Below, the trade association announced that it has signed up six additional carriers THAT will contribute ADDITIONAL INFORMATION to and benefit from the global information site, Turbulence Aware.

In 2018 IATA implemented this tool which helps airlines mitigate the impact of turbulence, a leading cause of passenger and crew injuries and higher fuel costs each year, by pooling and sharing anonymized turbulence data from multiple participating airlines and thousands of daily flights. The real-time, accurate information enables pilots and dispatchers to choose optimal flight paths, avoiding turbulence and flying at optimum levels to maximize fuel efficiency and thereby reduce CO2 emissions.

Here is some additional information about the problem and the solutions being developed:

Severe Air Turbulence- what’s known and what’s being done

And a more operational approach:

Southwest’s Collaborative SMS reduces Turbulence IMPACT

The International Civil Aviation Organization has published a useful website which highlights the lessons of past severe turbulence, reviews what passengers should do to minimize the risk, lists primary research publications and offers other bits of advice

The FAA has published an Advisory Circular (AC No: 120-88A), 25 pages analyzing the relevant data and citing sources to be used on an on-going basis; outlining carrier training courses; offering preventative  measures to avoid risky meteorological conditions; suggesting alternative approaches; among points. The agency also has posted an extensive library of information on this issue:

Turbulence will test  aviation for the immediate future; hopefully technology will successfully find solutions SOON.

IATA’s Turbulence Aware Platform Expands with Additional Airlines and Data Integrators

Geneva – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that interest in its TURBULENCE AWARE PLATFORM continues to expand, with six airlines having joined the program in 2024. Most recently, this includes Asiana Airlines, British Airways, Scoot and Singapore Airlines.

Managing turbulence will remain at the forefront of aviation safety and efficiency, given the expected rise in demand for air travel, coupled with shifting weather patterns. Turbulence Aware pools anonymized turbulence data from flights operated by participating airlines. This REAL-TIME, ACCURATE TURBULENCE REPORTING ENABLES PILOTS AND DISPATCHERS TO CHOOSE OPTIMAL FLIGHT PATHS, avoiding turbulence and flying at optimum levels to maximize fuel efficiency and thereby reduce CO2 carbon emissions.

“Making use of accurate and up to date data in Turbulence Aware helps flight crews’ efforts to avoid or at least mitigate the effects of turbulence. The quality of this data improves with each new airline contributing to the platform. So, the strong take up of Turbulence Aware by airlines is important. As ever, they key to improving aviation safety is working together and we look forward to welcoming more airline participants in the coming year,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

Along with growing airline participation, the data transmission scope of Turbulence Aware is expanding through agreements concluded with THE WEATHER COMPANY, LUFTHANSA SYSTEMS, PACE TXT, APIJET, BCI and STORKJET over the past 12 months. Through their existing data solutions for cockpit instruments, flight planning, and flight tracking systems, these companies now offer access to Turbulence Aware data. This enables pilots, dispatchers and flight planners to receive turbulence data directly in their main workflows, without relying on multiple screens or tools.

IATA launched Turbulence Aware in 2018 to help airlines mitigate the impact of turbulence which remains a leading cause of passenger and crew injuries. At present, the IATA Turbulence Aware Platform has over 25 airlines contributing and consuming data through more than 2,600 aircraft. IN 2023, A TOTAL OF 38 MILLION REPORTS WERE GENERATED. Data from IATA Turbulence Aware is also made available to meteorological offices for turbulence modeling validation and development as well as academic institutes for research purposes.