Why two Swiss to Italy flight routes are 'the most turbulent' in Europe
After the tragic air turbulence episode that happened on a recent London to Singapore flight, several flight routes in Europe have been highlighted for the risk of turbulence, including two Switzerland to Italy routes.
This incident on the Singapore airlines flight, which left one passenger dead and many injured, was far more severe than the vast majority of cases of turbulence and was believed to have been caused by a "significant altitude drop".
Most cases of turbulence on flights don’t don’t claim lives, or cause serious injuries.
It is therefore important to put this incident in its proper perspective.
However, turbulence on flights is not a rare occurance, as any frequent flyer will tell you.
About 65,000 flights encounter moderate turbulence every year, and about 5,500 hit severe turbulence. This may seem like a lot (especially if you happen to be on one of these flights), but it is only a small fraction of about 100,000 planes that fly, on average, in just one day.
This map shows what the sky looks like on a normal day.
Yesterday was the busiest day for commercial aviation that we’ve ever tracked. We tracked 134,386 commercial flights on 6 July and today is shaping up to be another busy day. More than 20,000 flights are in the air right now. pic.twitter.com/E7wheAo86B
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) July 7, 2023
Are some routes bumpier than others?
Indeed they are.
And unfortunately, three of them arrive at, or cross, Switzerland.
This is what a ranking compiled by Turbli, a site dedicated to tracking such events, indicates.
The platform has analysed around 150,000 international routes to chart the most turbulent journeys of 2023.
The analysis found — you’d better sit down and buckle up for this — that the flight from Milan Malpensa to Geneva is the shakiest in Europe (and 5th most turbulent in the world), and the Milan to Zurich route is in the 10th place.
In fact, the two are the only European flights among the top-10 bumpiest in the world, with the other ‘winners’ (or 'losers', if you prefer) located in South America and Asia.
But there's more
If we look at the 2022 ranking, we find that the 30-minute flights between Geneva and Zurich are particularly prone to chaotic changes of air pressure.
In fact, it was found to be the second-shakiest in Europe.
This particular route didn't make it to the top-10 in this year's lineup not because it has become less turbulent, but because other flights have become more so in the meantime.
Why do ‘Swiss’ flights rank high in terms of turbulence?
The reason, according to meteorologist Lionel Fontannaz, is that on both these routes — that is, from Milan to Switzerland, and from Geneva to Zurich — the plane flies over the Alps, “with southerly and northerly winds passing through it.”
“Certain types of turbulence are greater in mountain regions,” he added.
Turbli founder Ignacio Gallego Marcos agrees that mountains are, indeed, to blame.
He pointed out that routes over the Alps “appear high in the ranking due to mountain wave turbulence.”
The same phenomenon is also known to occur in the Andes,” he said.
Switzerland at the forefront — again
Turbli also rated the most turbulent airports.
Here too Switzerland scored high: Zurich is in the 2nd place in Europe, and Geneva in the 4th, both being surrounded by mountains.
However, while smaller aircraft could be more prone to jolting than big planes, turbulence doesn’t distinguish between airlines.
While only SWISS operated the internal flight between Geneva and Zurich, the Milan-Zurich/Geneva route is operated by both SWISS and Alitalia.
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This incident on the Singapore airlines flight, which left one passenger dead and many injured, was far more severe than the vast majority of cases of turbulence and was believed to have been caused by a "significant altitude drop".
Most cases of turbulence on flights don’t don’t claim lives, or cause serious injuries.
It is therefore important to put this incident in its proper perspective.
However, turbulence on flights is not a rare occurance, as any frequent flyer will tell you.
About 65,000 flights encounter moderate turbulence every year, and about 5,500 hit severe turbulence. This may seem like a lot (especially if you happen to be on one of these flights), but it is only a small fraction of about 100,000 planes that fly, on average, in just one day.
This map shows what the sky looks like on a normal day.
Yesterday was the busiest day for commercial aviation that we’ve ever tracked. We tracked 134,386 commercial flights on 6 July and today is shaping up to be another busy day. More than 20,000 flights are in the air right now. pic.twitter.com/E7wheAo86B
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) July 7, 2023
Are some routes bumpier than others?
Indeed they are.
And unfortunately, three of them arrive at, or cross, Switzerland.
This is what a ranking compiled by Turbli, a site dedicated to tracking such events, indicates.
The platform has analysed around 150,000 international routes to chart the most turbulent journeys of 2023.
The analysis found — you’d better sit down and buckle up for this — that the flight from Milan Malpensa to Geneva is the shakiest in Europe (and 5th most turbulent in the world), and the Milan to Zurich route is in the 10th place.
In fact, the two are the only European flights among the top-10 bumpiest in the world, with the other ‘winners’ (or 'losers', if you prefer) located in South America and Asia.
But there's more
If we look at the 2022 ranking, we find that the 30-minute flights between Geneva and Zurich are particularly prone to chaotic changes of air pressure.
In fact, it was found to be the second-shakiest in Europe.
This particular route didn't make it to the top-10 in this year's lineup not because it has become less turbulent, but because other flights have become more so in the meantime.
Why do ‘Swiss’ flights rank high in terms of turbulence?
The reason, according to meteorologist Lionel Fontannaz, is that on both these routes — that is, from Milan to Switzerland, and from Geneva to Zurich — the plane flies over the Alps, “with southerly and northerly winds passing through it.”
“Certain types of turbulence are greater in mountain regions,” he added.
Turbli founder Ignacio Gallego Marcos agrees that mountains are, indeed, to blame.
He pointed out that routes over the Alps “appear high in the ranking due to mountain wave turbulence.”
The same phenomenon is also known to occur in the Andes,” he said.
Switzerland at the forefront — again
Turbli also rated the most turbulent airports.
Here too Switzerland scored high: Zurich is in the 2nd place in Europe, and Geneva in the 4th, both being surrounded by mountains.
However, while smaller aircraft could be more prone to jolting than big planes, turbulence doesn’t distinguish between airlines.
While only SWISS operated the internal flight between Geneva and Zurich, the Milan-Zurich/Geneva route is operated by both SWISS and Alitalia.
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