The most turbulent flight routes in Australia and New Zealand
On Burnie–Launceston, the bumpiest route in the region, 44% of the flight time was in bumpy air. A typical route here: 14%. Tasmania, New Zealand's Southern Alps and the subtropical jet over the east coast do most of it.
The 20 most turbulent routes in Australia and New Zealand
Yellow is the share of the flight in light-or-worse bumpy air, orange the part that was moderate or worse. Tap a route for its live forecast.
- 1 Burnie – Launceston BWT · LST · 138 km 44%26% moderate
- 2 Auckland – Queenstown AKL · ZQN · 1,024 km 34%16% moderate
- 3 Christchurch – Queenstown CHC · ZQN · 346 km 33%15% moderate
- 4 Auckland – Nuku'alofa AKL · TBU · 2,005 km 32%11% moderate
- 5 Brisbane – Canberra BNE · CBR · 956 km 31%11% moderate
- 6 Brisbane – Launceston BNE · LST · 1,664 km 31%11% moderate
- 7 Auckland – Nouméa AKL · NOU · 1,860 km 30%11% moderate
- 8 Brisbane – Norfolk Island BNE · NLK · 1,463 km 30%10% moderate
- 9 Norfolk Island – Sydney NLK · SYD · 1,678 km 30%11% moderate
- 10 Auckland – Brisbane AKL · BNE · 2,295 km 30%11% moderate
- 11 Christchurch – Wellington CHC · WLG · 304 km 29%13% moderate
- 12 Auckland – Gold Coast AKL · OOL · 2,216 km 29%11% moderate
- 13 Canberra – Melbourne CBR · MEL · 470 km 29%11% moderate
- 14 Ballina – Melbourne BNK · MEL · 1,273 km 29%11% moderate
- 15 Brisbane – Hobart BNE · HBA · 1,791 km 28%10% moderate
- 16 Melbourne – Gold Coast MEL · OOL · 1,330 km 28%10% moderate
- 17 Brisbane – Melbourne BNE · MEL · 1,381 km 28%10% moderate
- 18 Auckland – Nadi AKL · NAN · 2,156 km 28%9% moderate
- 19 Brisbane – Sydney BNE · SYD · 753 km 28%10% moderate
- 20 Nouméa – Sydney NOU · SYD · 1,981 km 28%9% moderate
The westerlies, the Southern Alps and the subtropical jet
Burnie to Launceston, first in the region, is a short, low hop along Tasmania's north coast, under the westerlies and past the island's mountains. New Zealand sits in the same path, and its Southern Alps stand straight across it: wind over that ridge makes mountain waves on the way into Queenstown, and Wellington, between the two islands, takes the wind funnelled through Cook Strait.
Over eastern Australia the subtropical jet stream runs strongest in the southern winter, from June to September, and the busy corridor between Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne flies under it. Trans-Tasman routes cross it.
In the north the southern summer brings the wet season's storms, building over land in the afternoon.
When in the day routes here are smoothest
By local departure time, averaged over every ranked route in Australia and New Zealand.
The smoothest routes in Australia and New Zealand
The equatorial Pacific: Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Nauru and the Marshall Islands, far from any jet stream.
- 1 Kavieng – Manus KVG · MAS · 380 km 0%0% moderate
- 2 Madang – Manus MAG · MAS · 394 km 0%0% moderate
- 3 Vanimo – Wewak VAI · WWK · 281 km 0%0% moderate
- 4 Seghe – Gizo EGM · GZO · 124 km 1%0% moderate
- 5 Goroka – Mount Hagen GKA · HGU · 124 km 1%0% moderate
- 6 Nauru – Majuro INU · MAJ · 975 km 1%0% moderate
- 7 Honiara – Suavanao HIR · VAO · 251 km 1%0% moderate
- 8 Majuro – Tarawa MAJ · TRW · 665 km 1%0% moderate
- 9 Nauru – Tarawa INU · TRW · 725 km 1%0% moderate
- 10 Kavieng – Rabaul KVG · RAB · 262 km 1%0% moderate
Australia and New Zealand turbulence questions
What is the most turbulent flight route in Australia and New Zealand?
Burnie–Launceston, with 44% of the flight time in light-or-worse bumpy air across every snapshot in the report.
Why is flying into Wellington so bumpy?
Wellington sits on Cook Strait, the gap between New Zealand's two islands, and the westerlies are funnelled through it. Strong, gusty wind at low level makes the approach and climb-out bumpy on a windy day, which in Wellington is many days.
Is Sydney to Melbourne turbulent?
It is one of the busiest routes in the world and a bumpy one more often than its length suggests, under the subtropical jet stream over south-eastern Australia; in the report its bumpiest month is October. It sits just outside the top 20 here; Brisbane–Sydney and Brisbane–Melbourne, which run along the jet for longer, are in it.
When is turbulence worst in Australia?
In the south, the winter months from June to September, when the jet stream is strongest. In the tropical north, the wet season from November to April, with afternoon storms.
A ranking is the average. Your flight is one day.
FlyBud forecasts the turbulence along your actual route, at your actual time, and updates it as new weather comes in.