IATA expands turbulence aware platform

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that ANA and WestJet have joined its Turbulence Aware Platform on the sidelines of the 79th IATA Annual General Meeting.

Turbulence Aware was launched in 2018 to help  airlines mitigate the impact of turbulence which is a leading cause of passenger and crew injuries and higher fuel costs each year. The platform pools anonymized turbulence data from thousands of flights operated by participating airlines. The real-time, accurate information enables pilots and dispatchers to choose optimal flight paths, avoiding turbulence and flying at optimum levels to maximize fuel efficiency and thereby reduce CO2 carbon emissions.

The challenge of managing turbulence is expected to grow as climate change continues to impact weather patterns. This has implications for both safety and efficiency of flight. Turbulence Aware is a significant improvement in turbulence reporting and avoiding excess fuel consumption.

“Accurate and timely data empowers crews to improve safety by avoiding turbulence. The more contributors we have, the more everyone benefits. The addition of ANA and WestJet enhances our coverage especially in Asia Pacific and North America,” said Willie Walsh, IATA's Director General.

At present, 20 airlines participate in the IATA Turbulence Aware Platform with more than 1,900 aircraft providing data daily. In 2022, a total of 31 million reports were generated.

•             ANA will start providing data from nine aircraft as of 1 July 2023, with the aim of increasing this to 125 aircraft in the next three years.

•             WestJet is already capturing data from 24 aircraft and will expand this to 60 aircraft in the coming three years.

To gather additional feedback from airlines and engage with OEMs and other solution providers, IATA is organizing a Turbulence Aware User Forum, taking place at the WestJet Campus in Calgary, Canada on June 19-20, 2023.