According to a new report, half of the most turbulent flight routes in the world departed from Argentina in 2024.
Considering around 10,000 journeys that took flight last year, Turbli, a turbulence tracking company, found that the most turbulent flight route is from Argentina’s Mendoza International Airport (MDZ) to Chile’s Santiago International Airport (SCL). Mendoza, also known as El Plumerillo International Airport, was the departure site for three of the top four most turbulent flight routes.
The second most turbulent flight route also landed in Santiago. The latter’s departure was from Ingeniero Aeronáutico Ambrosio L.V. Taravella International Airport (COR) in Cordoba, Argentina. The South American country’s Mendoza and Cordoba airports comprised the departure sites for the list’s top four rankings. In addition, the tenth most turbulent flight route was from Argentina’s San Carlos de Bariloche Airport (BRC) to Santiago.
While Argentina was home to the most departure sites (and airports) on the list, Chile’s Santiago Airport was the single most featured flight hub. Turbli claimed in a separate report that the latter airport is the most turbulent out of “about 550 of the largest airports in the world.” The site, also known as Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport, was featured in four of the 10 most turbulent flight routes.
- Mendoza (MDZ) – Santiago (SCL)
- Cordoba (COR) – Santiago (SCL)
- Mendoza (MDZ) – Salta (SLA)
- Mendoza (MDZ) – San Carlos de Bariloche (BRC)
- Kathmandu (KTM) – Lhasa (LXA)
- Chengdu (CTU) – Lhasa (LXA)
- Santa Cruz (VVI) – Santiago (SCL)
- Kathmandu (KTM) – Paro (PBH)
- Chengdu (CTU) – Xining (XNN)
- San Carlos de Bariloche (BRC) – Santiago (SCL)
The amount of flight turbulence was quantified via each route’s eddy dissipation rate or EDR. The National Weather Service explains that a route’s EDR is “a measure of turbulence intensity” regardless of aircraft characteristics.
What Else Should Travelers Know About The Most Turbulent Flight Routes?
The most turbulent flight routes were ranked using data from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the UK Met Office.
“Despite the chaotic nature of turbulence, there is a clear seasonal change in turbulence driven by the seasonal changes in wind, which is what triggers turbulence,” noted Turbli. “…This seasonality and geographic variability is what allows for making meaningful ranking tables showing which one of the usual turbulence hotspots made it to the top for the weather conditions of that particular year.”
