IATA Expands Turbulence Data Sharing with The Weather Company to Enhance Flight Safety

Sunday, February 25, 2024

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is broadening the scope of its Turbulence Aware data dissemination, making it accessible through premier aviation solutions by The Weather Company. This initiative targets the lion’s share of commercial carriers in North America and numerous international operators. With this upgrade, associated carriers will soon tap into the Eddy Dissipation Rate (EDR) turbulence data via The Weather Company’s Fusion™ and Pilotbrief® platforms. IATA’s Turbulence Aware will integrate as an extra layer within these platforms, ensuring that pilots, dispatchers, and flight planners receive critical turbulence data seamlessly in their essential operational tools, eliminating the need to juggle between different interfaces.

Turbulence poses risks to safety on board, influences flight scheduling, impacts customer satisfaction, and necessitates additional equipment maintenance, among other concerns. The strategic fusion of IATA’s Turbulence Aware data with The Weather Company’s forecasting prowess—recognized as the top forecaster globally—seeks to enhance the management of weather and turbulence effects for airlines worldwide.

The provision of precise, real-time turbulence insights empowers flight crews and dispatchers to select the most favorable routes, circumvent turbulence, and maintain optimal altitudes to boost fuel efficiency and cut down CO2 emissions. Introduced in 2018, IATA’s Turbulence Aware initiative aims at reducing turbulence-related injuries to passengers and crew, as well as diminishing fuel expenses, by aggregating anonymous EDR turbulence data from thousands of flights by participating airlines. EDR is recognized by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) as the standard metric for measuring turbulence intensity.

Ravi Vanmali, The Weather Company’s aviation head, emphasizes the increasing importance of incorporating precise, real-time weather data and insights into aviation decision-making processes, especially as climate change intensifies weather unpredictability. He notes that dependable weather forecasts, augmented by expert analysis, can significantly aid airlines and pilots in navigating adverse weather and turbulence, thereby safeguarding crew and passenger well-being and minimizing financial repercussions.

Frederic Leger, IATA’s Senior Vice President of Commercial Products & Services, highlights the goal of simplifying access to turbulence data. Through partnership with The Weather Company, IATA aims to make Turbulence Aware data readily available within pilots’ and dispatchers’ current operational systems, streamlining the decision-making process in turbulence management and avoidance.

As weather patterns evolve with climate change, managing turbulence remains a complex challenge that affects flight safety and efficiency. Turbulence Aware stands out as a pivotal enhancement in turbulence reporting, helping to avoid unnecessary fuel consumption.

Currently, the IATA Turbulence Aware Platform boasts participation from 21 airlines, with over 2,000 aircraft contributing data daily. In 2023, the platform amassed more than 380 million turbulence observations, significantly enhancing the travel experience for over 700 million passengers by ensuring safer and more comfortable flights.

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