turbulence report 2026

The FlyBud Turbulence Report

Where the world's bumpiest flying is, ranked: 16,812 routes, every country and the hotspots in between, from 2022–2026 of global weather data run through the same turbulence engine as the app. The globe is live: it is today's forecast.

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updated October 15, 2026 · method and data below
Live forecast BCN JFK
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the headline numbers

Bumpy air is common. Strong bumps are not.

Light turbulence is part of most flights somewhere along the way. What sets the worst routes apart is how much of the flight it fills, and how often it gets stronger than light.

51%La Serena – Santiagoof its flight time in bumpy air: the most turbulent route in the world
54%Japanof the time, the air at cruise height over the most turbulent country is bumpy
18%A typical routeof the flight time in bumpy air, on the median route of the thousands we ranked
19%Februaryof the world's cruise-level air is bumpy in its bumpiest month
routes

The 10 most turbulent routes in the world

Ranked by the share of the flight spent in light-or-worse bumpy air, averaged over every day, season and time of day in the report. Tap a route for its live forecast.

  1. 1 La Serena – Santiago LSC · SCL · 389 km 51%32% moderate Mountain wavesbumpiest in Jun
  2. 2 Nagoya – Sendai NGO · SDJ · 518 km 51%24% moderate Jet streambumpiest in Dec
  3. 3 Tokyo Haneda – Komatsu HND · KMQ · 318 km 51%28% moderate Jet streambumpiest in Dec
  4. 4 Hiroshima – Sendai HIJ · SDJ · 826 km 50%23% moderate Jet streambumpiest in Dec
  5. 5 Osaka Itami – Niigata ITM · KIJ · 482 km 50%23% moderate Jet streambumpiest in Dec
  6. 6 Mendoza – Santiago MDZ · SCL · 196 km 50%26% moderate Jet streambumpiest in Jul
  7. 7 Tokyo Haneda – Toyama HND · TOY · 264 km 50%27% moderate Jet streambumpiest in Dec
  8. 8 Niigata – Nagoya Komaki KIJ · NKM · 358 km 49%26% moderate Jet streambumpiest in Dec
  9. 9 Osaka Kansai – Sendai KIX · SDJ · 655 km 49%22% moderate Jet streambumpiest in Dec
  10. 10 Memanbetsu – Nagoya MMB · NGO · 1,185 km 49%20% moderate Jet streambumpiest in Dec
Share of flight time in light-or-worse bumpy airof which moderate or worseranked among 14,869 routes

The top 25, and the smoothest routes United States Europe Asia

countries

The most turbulent countries to fly over

How often the air at cruise height over each country is bumpy. The top of the list is mountains and jet streams: places where fast winds meet high ground, or cross each other.

  1. 1 Japan bumpiest in Dec · calmest in Aug 54%27% moderate Jet stream
  2. 2 South Korea bumpiest in Feb · calmest in Aug 51%22% moderate Jet stream
  3. 3 North Korea bumpiest in Apr · calmest in Aug 50%23% moderate Jet stream
  4. 4 Chile bumpiest in Jun · calmest in Jan 40%19% moderate Jet stream
  5. 5 New Zealand bumpiest in Sep · calmest in Jan 37%17% moderate Jet stream
  6. 6 Georgia bumpiest in Feb · calmest in Aug 36%17% moderate Jet stream
  7. 7 Azerbaijan bumpiest in Mar · calmest in Aug 36%17% moderate Jet stream
  8. 8 Uruguay bumpiest in Sep · calmest in Mar 36%14% moderate Jet stream
  9. 9 Bhutan bumpiest in Feb · calmest in Sep 34%16% moderate Jet stream
  10. 10 Iceland bumpiest in Jan · calmest in Jun 34%17% moderate Jet stream
Share of the time the air at cruise height is bumpyranked among 140 countries

Every country, and the smoothest

airports

The most turbulent airports

An airport is as bumpy as the routes that leave it: the average over every route it serves, weighted by how many airlines fly each one.

  1. 1 Sapporo CTS Japan · 31 routes 40%21% climb and approach
  2. 2 Tokyo Haneda HND Japan · 73 routes 37%22% climb and approach
  3. 3 Nagoya NGO Japan · 40 routes 34%18% climb and approach
  4. 4 Fukuoka FUK Japan · 34 routes 34%13% climb and approach
  5. 5 Baotou BAV China · 16 routes 33%15% climb and approach
  6. 6 Taiyuan TYN China · 47 routes 33%15% climb and approach
  7. 7 Shijiazhuang SJW China · 34 routes 33%13% climb and approach
  8. 8 Lanzhou LHW China · 33 routes 33%11% climb and approach
  9. 9 Yinchuan INC China · 30 routes 33%15% climb and approach
  10. 10 Xining XNN China · 19 routes 32%8% climb and approach
Average share of flight time in bumpy air, over every route from the airportranked among 507 airports

The full airport ranking

the hotspots

The places pilots talk about, month by month

The North Atlantic, the big mountain ranges, Japan and the monsoon seas, with the share of the time their air is bumpy in each month. The pattern is the jet stream: strongest in each hemisphere's winter.

Share of the time the air at cruise height is bumpy, by month
JFMAMJJASOND
North Atlantic414037332828262933364138
Rocky Mountains384337312927151722273640
Andes161718283542414440353126
Himalayas and Tibet53545044372411814263448
Bay of Bengal798451014117227
Alps353130252021232028283632
Japan525552555246252233415056
Tasman Sea and New Zealand262728262730302727292833

Each number is the % of the time the air at cruise height (about 30,000–34,000 ft) is light-or-worse bumpy in that month, averaged over every year in the report.

The best time of year and day to fly

how we measured it

Four snapshots a day, for years, along every route

For every six hours from 2022 to today, we took the global weather model's picture of the atmosphere and ran it through FlyBud's turbulence engine: the jet-stream and wind-shear signals pilots' own forecasts use, plus storms, mountain waves and daytime thermals. That gave 6,988 snapshots of where the air was bumpy, at every height a jet flies.

Each of 16,812 routes was then flown through every snapshot the way the app forecasts a real flight: along the great circle, climbing, cruising and descending at the heights an airliner would. A route's score is the share of all that flying that met light or worse bumpy air, and how much of it was moderate or worse.

Light means drinks ripple and walking is a little unsteady. Moderate means the seatbelt sign stays on and walking is difficult. Neither is dangerous to the aircraft, which is designed for much stronger turbulence. The risk is to anyone not wearing a belt, which is why the sign matters.

The full method, its limits and the data download

Turbulence Report questions

What is the most turbulent route in the world?

La Serena–Santiago. Across every snapshot in the report, 51% of its flight time was in light-or-worse bumpy air, against 18% on a typical route. The top of the ranking is dominated by short flights under the strongest jet streams and over mountains.

What is the most turbulent country to fly over?

Japan. The air at cruise height over it is bumpy 54% of the time, mostly from the jet stream and the wind shear around it.

What is the bumpiest month to fly?

Worldwide, February, and the calmest is September, but it depends on where. The jet stream is strongest in each hemisphere's winter, while storms peak in summer and the tropical wet season. The best-time page has the month-by-month picture for every region.

Does a turbulent route mean a dangerous route?

No. Turbulence is a comfort problem, not a structural one: airliners are certified for loads well beyond anything the atmosphere produces in normal flight. The people who get hurt in turbulence are almost always not wearing a seatbelt. A bumpy route is one where keeping it fastened matters more.

How is this different from other turbulence rankings?

Three things. It ranks by the share of the flight spent in bumpy air rather than a single averaged index, so the numbers mean something on their own. It says what causes the bumps on each route and when in the year they are worst. And the method, its limits and the full data are published, so anyone can check them.

Can I use this data?

Yes. The full route table is free to download and use with credit to the FlyBud Turbulence Report. Journalists can find the method, citation and download on the methodology page.

More from the Turbulence Report

Most turbulent routes The 25 most turbulent flight routes in the world, ranked by the share of the flight in bumpy air, with the cause and worst month of each. Most turbulent countries Every country ranked by how often the air at cruise height over it is bumpy. Japan is first at 54% of the time. The cause and the worst month for each. Best time to fly The best month and time of day to fly to avoid turbulence, region by region. Worldwide, September is the calmest month to fly. Methodology and data How the FlyBud Turbulence Report is made: the NOAA data, the turbulence engine, how routes are flown and scored, the limits, and the full data to download and cite.

A ranking is the average. Your flight is one day.

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