turbulence report · airports

The most turbulent airports in the world

An airport is as bumpy as the flights that use it. Sapporo comes first: averaged over every route it serves, its flights are in bumpy air more than any other major airport's.

See the ranking →
the top 25

The 25 most turbulent airports

The average share of flight time in bumpy air over every route from the airport, weighted by how many airlines fly each. The smaller figure is how often the climb-out and approach, below about 12,000 ft, are bumpy.

  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
  11. 11 Shenyang SHE China · 62 routes 32%11% climb and approach
  12. 12 Xi'an XIY China · 86 routes 32%10% climb and approach
  13. 13 Lhasa LXA China · 15 routes 32%10% climb and approach
  14. 14 Dalian DLC China · 58 routes 32%8% climb and approach
  15. 15 Yuncheng YCU China · 18 routes 32%12% climb and approach
  16. 16 Jeju CJU South Korea · 33 routes 31%11% climb and approach
  17. 17 Tianjin TSN China · 51 routes 31%9% climb and approach
  18. 18 Ordos DSN China · 18 routes 31%11% climb and approach
  19. 19 Qingdao TAO China · 53 routes 31%7% climb and approach
  20. 20 Jinan TNA China · 40 routes 31%9% climb and approach
  21. 21 Osaka Kansai KIX Japan · 57 routes 31%18% climb and approach
  22. 22 Hohhot HET China · 36 routes 31%12% climb and approach
  23. 23 Changchun CGQ China · 29 routes 30%9% climb and approach
  24. 24 Yantai YNT China · 23 routes 30%7% climb and approach
  25. 25 Zhengzhou CGO China · 55 routes 30%9% climb and approach
Average share of flight time in bumpy air, over every route from the airportranked among 507 airports
why

Two ways an airport gets on this list

Most airports here are on it for their routes: every flight out of them crosses the same jet stream or the same mountains, so the whole network is bumpy. Japan's airports are the clearest case. Their routes run under the winter jet stream, the strongest anywhere.

The others are on it for their own ground. An airport against a mountain range, or on a windy strait, has bumpy climb-outs and approaches whatever the route: the air near the ground is being stirred by the terrain. That is the smaller climb-and-approach figure on each row.

north america

The most turbulent airports in North America

  1. 1 New York LaGuardia LGA United States · 54 routes 27%9% climb and approach
  2. 2 Hartford BDL United States · 20 routes 27%11% climb and approach
  3. 3 Buffalo BUF United States · 16 routes 26%10% climb and approach
  4. 4 Anchorage ANC United States · 33 routes 26%25% climb and approach
  5. 5 Halifax YHZ Canada · 23 routes 26%10% climb and approach
  6. 6 Portland PDX United States · 38 routes 25%22% climb and approach
  7. 7 Boston BOS United States · 95 routes 25%11% climb and approach
  8. 8 Phoenix–Mesa AZA United States · 32 routes 25%14% climb and approach
  9. 9 Washington DCA United States · 63 routes 25%11% climb and approach
  10. 10 Baltimore BWI United States · 69 routes 25%9% climb and approach
Average share of flight time in bumpy air, over every route from the airportranked among 507 airports
europe

The most turbulent airports in Europe

  1. 1 Bergen BGO Norway · 44 routes 25%21% climb and approach
  2. 2 Vladivostok VVO Russia · 15 routes 25%12% climb and approach
  3. 3 Tromsø TOS Norway · 18 routes 24%22% climb and approach
  4. 4 Ajaccio AJA France · 26 routes 24%23% climb and approach
  5. 5 Trondheim TRD Norway · 28 routes 23%22% climb and approach
  6. 6 Nice NCE France · 84 routes 23%19% climb and approach
  7. 7 Bastia BIA France · 22 routes 23%16% climb and approach
  8. 8 Montpellier MPL France · 19 routes 22%17% climb and approach
  9. 9 Lamezia Terme SUF Italy · 20 routes 22%18% climb and approach
  10. 10 Memmingen FMM Germany · 20 routes 22%19% climb and approach
Average share of flight time in bumpy air, over every route from the airportranked among 507 airports
asia

The most turbulent airports in Asia

  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 other end

The smoothest major airports

All in the tropics, near the equator, far from any jet stream.

  1. 1 Honiara HIR Solomon Islands · 19 routes 2%1% climb and approach
  2. 2 Penang PEN Malaysia · 20 routes 2%2% climb and approach
  3. 3 Surabaya SUB Indonesia · 25 routes 2%2% climb and approach
  4. 4 Makassar UPG Indonesia · 22 routes 3%3% climb and approach
  5. 5 Manaus MAO Brazil · 17 routes 3%7% climb and approach
  6. 6 Belém BEL Brazil · 19 routes 3%6% climb and approach
  7. 7 Cotonou COO Benin · 17 routes 3%2% climb and approach
  8. 8 Dar es Salaam DAR Tanzania · 21 routes 3%5% climb and approach
  9. 9 Entebbe EBB Uganda · 20 routes 3%4% climb and approach
  10. 10 Douala DLA Cameroon · 20 routes 4%4% climb and approach
Average share of flight time in bumpy air, over every route from the airportranked among 507 airports

Questions about turbulent airports

Which airport has the most turbulence?

Sapporo. Averaged over every route it serves, its flights spend more of their time in bumpy air than any other major airport's. The full top 25 is above.

Why is Denver airport turbulent?

It sits at 5,430 ft against the Front Range of the Rockies, so the climb-out and the approach are often the bumpiest part of the flight: wind over the ranges makes mountain waves. Averaged over all its routes it is not in the North American top 10, because most of them head east over the plains; its routes west across the mountains are another matter.

Are landings or takeoffs bumpier?

Both happen low, in the air the ground stirs up: thermals on a hot afternoon, gusts on a windy day, waves near mountains. The bumpiest part of most flights is the climb-out and the approach, then it smooths out at cruise.

More from the Turbulence Report

Turbulence Report The world's most turbulent routes, airports and countries, ranked from 6,988 global weather snapshots since 2022. With the method and the data. 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 routes in the US The 20 most turbulent domestic flight routes in the US, ranked by the share of the flight in bumpy air. Billings–Denver is first. Why, and when. 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.

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