Travelers looking for a tropical getaway should expect “rollercoaster-friendly” bumps on their flights from Denver, as America’s most turbulent flight paths have been revealed.
The route from Denver, Colorado, to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, is ranked as one of the bumpiest flight routes in the U.S., according to a new study published by Turbli.com.
The turbulence forecasting site analyzed 150,000 active air routes and 500 of the world’s largest airports to publish a new report revealing the most turbulent flight routes in 2023.
The trip between Nashville, Tennessee, and the Raleigh-Durham airport in North Carolina proved to be the most complicated. Following closely behind are flight routes between Charlotte and Pittsburgh, as well as between Denver and Puerto Vallarta.
Among the 10 routes with the most turbulence, New York City and Boston airports have two each.
Travelers looking for a tropical getaway should expect “rollercoaster-friendly” obstacles on their flights from Denver (pictured), as America’s most turbulent flight paths have been revealed.
The route from Denver, Colorado, to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (pictured), is ranked as one of the bumpiest flight routes in the U.S., according to a new study published by Turbli.com
A social media user shared a horrifying scene showing the most severe air turbulence he has ever experienced.
Turbulence levels range from mild, moderate, severe and extreme, where mild turbulence equals “gentle flying” and moderate bumps mean “difficulty walking and with food services.”
“Severe” turbulence causes “sudden, violent changes in altitude,” and when extreme turbulence occurs, a plane is “virtually impossible to control”, a case described as extremely rare.
Turbulence in flight is the result of changes in the distribution of air currents and pressure around the aircraft and does not represent any significant safety risk.
As one long-haul Dreamliner captain who spoke to DailyMai.com said: “The type of turbulence that people often worry about is clear air turbulence, which is what usually happens at high altitudes.
‘This is associated with the intercontinental jet streams that circle the world. And where these jet streams collide is obviously determined by weather patterns.
“It’s pretty easy to predict where it might be on any given day, and meteorologists are very good at forecasting it.”
The captain added that this high-altitude turbulence cannot be seen by a plane’s weather radar, so pilots tend to rely on other aircraft to report it.
“In terms of what it could do to you, yes, it’s unpleasant, no one likes to be bounced around like that, or very few people do, but it’s not dangerous.”
He continued: “Airplanes like to fly, they don’t like to fall from the sky, and you have to work hard to make them do that.”
Shocking images taken after the devastating turbulence show meals, trays, cutlery, bottles and glasses strewn across the aisles of the flight from Luanda to Lisbon earlier this year.
The trip between Nashville, Tennessee, and the Raleigh-Durham airport in North Carolina emerged as the most complicated in the United States last year.
The route from Santiago (above) in Chile to Viru Viru International Airport in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, was rated the most turbulent in the world.
Among airports with the highest average turbulence in 2023, Portland International Airport secured the top spot, closely followed by Denver and Las Vegas airports.
Therefore, travelers leaving these airports are in for an exciting but turbulent experience.
For nervous travelers who are terrified by flight turbulence, Turbli.com interactive mapUpdated every six hours, it provides forecasts for the current hour and three, six, nine or 12 hours into the future.
The website also provides three static turbulence maps, for the world, the United States and Europe, showing forecasts in three-hour increments up to 24 hours into the future.
More data on turbulence can be obtained by studying the website’s rankings for the world’s most turbulent routes and airports.
The 1,184 mile route from Santiago, Chile, to the Viru Viru International Airport in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, It was ranked as the most turbulent in the world.
The second most unstable is the short-distance 210-mile jump from Almaty in Kazakhstan to its capital, Bishke (EDR 17.4).