Turbulence ranking The most turbulent flight routes in Europe pass through Switzerland
ai-scrape
19.1.2025 - 21:20

Turbulence is the most unpleasant part of a flight. Routes that run over or along mountains are particularly susceptible. An analysis shows which routes are particularly affected.
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- The online portal turbli.com has compiled a ranking of the most turbulent flight routes for 2024.
- It shows that the shakiest routes are in South America. The flight from Mendoza in Argentina to Santiago in Chile is said to be the most shaky.
- In Europe, many of the most turbulent flight routes lead to or start in Switzerland.
Turbulence is an unpleasant phenomenon that can make even experienced passengers feel uneasy. If the mere thought of a shaking plane makes your hair stand on end, you should avoid particularly affected flight routes.
Routes over or along high mountain ranges are particularly susceptible. Flights that take off or land in Switzerland are therefore also frequently affected.
This is shown by a ranking from turbli.com. The tracking website provides an overview of the world's most turbulent flight routes in 2024, which can also serve as an indicator for the current year. A look at the list shows that travelers to South America are particularly likely to experience turbulent flights.
Around 10,000 short and long-haul flights between the world's 550 largest airports were taken into account for the analysis. The ranking is based on the eddy dissipation rate (edr), which measures the intensity of turbulence at a particular location.
However, the edr indicates the turbulence intensity independently of the characteristics of the aircraft. This means that a high edr can be perceived as particularly strong in smaller aircraft, while it is less noticeable in larger aircraft.
The intensity is divided into different categories: An edr of zero to 20 is considered mild, 20 to 40 moderate, 40 to 80 strong and 80 to 100 extreme.
Where it shakes the most on flights
The world's most turbulent flight route last year was the 196-kilometre route from Mendoza International Airport in Argentina to Santiago in Chile, with an average edr of 24.684.
In second place in the ranking is the route from Córdoba in Argentina to Santiago in Chile, which is 660 kilometers long and has an edr of 20.214.
But Argentina is affected even further: On the domestic flights from Mendoza to Salta (edr 19.825) and from Mendoza to San Carlos de Bariloche (edr 19.252), the aircraft is shaking properly in many cases.
It is striking that the routes mentioned above all run close to the Andes, which explains the turbulence. As CNN writes, turbulence is "usually caused by mountains, storms or strong jet stream currents".
The first non-South American route in the top 10 is in fifth place and runs from Kathmandu in Nepal to Lhasa in Tibet. The flight leads over the Himalayan region and can therefore be a challenging experience in smaller aircraft.
The most turbulent flight routes worldwide:
- Mendoza, Argentina - Santiago, Chile (196 km)
- Córdoba, Argentina - Santiago, Chile (660 km)
- Mendoza, Argentina - Salta, Argentina (940 km)
- Mendoza, Argentina - San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina
(946 km) - Kathmandu, Nepal - Lhasa, Tibet (571 km)
- Chengdu, China - Lhasa, Tibet (1265 km)
- Santa Cruz, Bolivia - Santiago, Chile (1905 km)
- Kathmandu, Nepal - Paro, Bhutan (402 km)
- Chengdu, China - Xining, China (685 km)
- San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina - Santiago, Chile (861 km)
Within Europe, the most turbulent routes are quickly identified. Almost all of the routes listed by turbli.com have a Swiss airport as their destination or starting point. In first place is the 299-kilometer route from Nice in France to Geneva in Switzerland with an edr of 16.065.
The route from Nice to Zurich is not much quieter either, with an edr of 15.493. The third-worst route, from Milan to Zurich, is relatively short at 200 kilometers, but has an edr of 15.41.
The most turbulent routes in Europe:
- Nice, France - Geneva, Switzerland (299 km)
- Nice, France - Zurich, Switzerland (434 km)
- Milan, Italy - Zurich, Switzerland (203 km)
- Milan, Italy - Lyon, France (283 km)
- Nice, France - Basel, Switzerland (438 km)
- Geneva, Switzerland - Zurich, Switzerland (230 km)
- Nice, France - Lyon, France (284 km)
- Geneva, Switzerland - Venice, Italy (491 km)
- Lyon, France - Zurich, Switzerland (517 km)
- Venice, Italy - Zurich, Switzerland (363 km)
Airports are also affected by turbulence
Airports are also affected by the turbulence. Santiago in Chile is considered to be the airport with the most severe turbulence, followed by Mendoza and Salta in Argentina.
In North America, Denver in the US state of Colorado is particularly affected. In Europe, Turin in Italy, Christchurch in New Zealand in the oceanic regions, Kathmandu in Nepal in Asia and Maseru in Lesotho in Africa were singled out.
For the evaluation of the airports, the average turbulence in an area with a diameter of around 200 kilometers and an altitude of 6000 meters was calculated.
The editor wrote this article with the help of AI.