Nashville passengers buckle in, this BNA flight route experienced the most turbulence in 2023

Diana Leyva, Nashville Tennessean
·2 min read

Heads up, Nashvillians traveling to North Carolina will need to fasten their seat belts as they could experience a bumpier ride than normal.

A report by USA Today reveals that the 442-mile route from Nashville International Airport to the Raleigh-Durham International Airport experienced, on average, the most turbulence in North America in 2023. The data was analyzed using Eddy Dissipation Rate (EDR), which is a measure of turbulence intensity, according to the National Weather Service.

Despite BNA's high ranking, all North American air routes were lower than those of others worldwide. The route from Santiago, Chile, to Santa Cruz, Bolivia, led the way with the world's highest at 17.568 EDR.

Read ahead to see how BNA's route compared against other North American routes and more information on turbulence.

North American routes with highest average turbulence in 2023

What is turbulence?

Pilots report about 65,000 incidents of moderate turbulence every year, according to the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, turbulence is air movement created by a variety of factors such as atmospheric pressure, jet streams, air around mountains, cold or warm weather fronts, or thunderstorms. It can be unexpected and can happen when the sky appears to be clear.

Turbulence can give an airplane a sudden jolt that can injure passengers and flight crewmembers who aren't buckled in, said the Federal Aviation Administration.

How does turbulence affect you?

How can passengers avoid injuries during turbulence?

The Federal Aviation Administration recommends the following tips for staying safe during turbulence:

  • Listen to the pilots and flight attendants — FAA regulations require passengers to be seated with their seat belts fastened whenever the seat belt sign is illuminated during flight.

  • Pay attention to the safety briefing at the beginning of your flight and read the safety briefing card.

  • Use an approved child safety seat or device if your child is under two.

  • Prevent inflight injuries by adhering to your airline’s carry-on restrictions.

Methodology

The data in the study was taken from turbli.com. Turbli analyzed 150,000 airline routes worldwide and ranked those that were active as of December 2023. Turbulence was computed over an aircraft's geodesic, its dome-shaped flight path, and its average cruising altitude.

USA Today contributed to this report.

Diana Leyva covers trending news and service for The Tennessean. Contact her at Dleyva@gannett.com or follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter at @_leyvadiana

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville to North Carolina flight route the most turbulent in 2023