NZ29 Houston to Auckland is one of the world's most turbulent long-haul routes. Photo / Fly D'ur, Unsplash
NZ29 Houston to Auckland is one of the world's most turbulent long-haul routes. Photo / Fly D'ur, Unsplash
After pilots were put on watch for turbulence on transtasman flights last week, a survey of historic turbulence has revealed New Zealand is home to some of the most bumpy airports in the South Pacific.
Three of the busiest airports in the motu were found to have the bumpiest takeoffs and landings south of the equator.
Using Aircraft Meteorological Data Relay (AMDAR) data from the Word Meteorological Service, the website Turbli has been compiling a worldwide ranking of the bumpiest flight routes in the world since 2022.
The “eddy dissipation rate” relies on flight data to calculate areas where planes encounter the most turbulence. Auckland International Airport was shown as a hub for some of the bumpiest long and mid-haul routes over the past 12 months.
Auckland was shown to be the third-most-turbulent airport in the region, followed by Wellington and Christchurch, which had an average turbulence score of 27.75 to 26.97 EDR.
According to Turbuli, EDR turbulence levels of 0-20 were considered light to moderate, whereas anything above 40 was severe.
In 2022 Auckland was serving three of the most turbulent flight paths, including the second-bumpiest long-haul route in the world - which was Air New Zealand’s NZ29, Houston to Auckland which over a distance of 11,933km had an average EDR of 14.393.
The bumpiest route in the world was named as Santiago de Chile SCL to Santa Cruz VVI in California, with an average turbulence score of 17.295. The long, northbound route follows the Pacific coast and the contours of the Andes mountains with regular, strong crosswinds.
Pacific routes were particularly bumpy, with flight paths to Rarotonga, Vanuatu and Papeete in French Polynesia topping 15 on the EDR score.
Only Perth’s and Adelaide’s airports scored higher in Australia for average turbulence, at 29.996 and 29.837, buffeted by proximity to the coast and with long, cross-continent domestic routes.
Average turbulence eddy dissipation rate calculated from Aircraft Meteorological Data Relay (AMDAR). Image / Copernicus; European Geosciences Union
Where are the world’s worst airports for turbulence?
Passengers can buckle up safe in the knowledge New Zealand is nowhere near the top of the table.
Despite strong northwesterlies and a pocket of high orographic turbulence that has been hanging over the Southern Alps this week, New Zealand enjoys relatively smooth flight conditions.
Over the past 30 days, Kiwi airspace has landed at a moderate 114th in the world.
The world’s most turbulent airport is located in continental China, with Xigazê, Tibet named the most turbulent landing strip in the world - averaging a vomit-coaxing turbulence score of 34.827 EDR, followed by Zhangjiakou, northern China, at 33.417. Athens International Airport came in third, buffeted by unpredictable eddies over the Aegean Sea.
