How Turbulence Affects Flights: Boston and Beyond

Many folks are afraid to fly. You may be one of them. However, air travel is considered one of the safest modes of transportation in the United States.

It's a simple law of physics: what goes up must come down, and that includes airplanes.

However, most airplanes that take off do come back down safely. Sometimes the flight from here to there can be uncomfortable and even scary, especially if you encounter turbulence.

Why Turbulence Happens

"Turbulence is one of the most unpredictable of all the weather phenomena that are of significance to pilots," according to NOAA. "Turbulence is an irregular motion of the air resulting from eddies and vertical currents."

NOAA says turbulence "may be as insignificant as a few annoying bumps or severe enough to momentarily throw an airplane out of control or to cause structural damage."

"Turbulence is associated with fronts, wind shear, thunderstorms, etc.," NOAA said. One thing turbulence is not often associated with is plane crashes. Modern planes are built to withstand turbulence.

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Turbulence and Flight Safety

Turbulence can shake up a passenger plane, though, causing injury and damage. That's why passengers are instructed to stay seated and buckled in at all times.

Most Turbulent Flight Routes

The website Turbli tracks the flight routes with the highest average turbulence worldwide, including North America. In 2023, Turbli reported that two of the 10 most turbulent North American flight routes involved Boston Logan International Airport.

The flights were Boston to Syracuse and Boston to Philadelphia.

Turbli said the flight route between Warwick, Rhode Island (T.F. Green International), and Syracuse was even more prone to turbulence than those originating from Boston that year.

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No flight routes involving Logan or Green were included in Turbli's top 10 list for 2024 or 2025.

Turbli also tracks the annual average airport turbulence. Boston Logan and T.F. Green were not in the top 10 for 2023, 2024, or 2025.

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Source: Are Boston Flights Really the Most Turbulent?

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