The most turbulent flight routes in Europe
On Bodø–Sandnessjøen, the bumpiest route in Europe, 39% of the flight time was in bumpy air. A typical European route: 19%. The top 20 is Norway's coast and the western Alps.
The 20 most turbulent routes in Europe
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 Bodø – Sandnessjøen BOO · SSJ · 168 km 39%19% moderate
- 2 Bergen – Sogndal BGO · SOG · 142 km 39%20% moderate
- 3 Bergen – Kristiansund BGO · KSU · 342 km 37%17% moderate
- 4 Bergen – Molde BGO · MOL · 293 km 36%16% moderate
- 5 Brønnøy – Bodø BNN · BOO · 223 km 36%16% moderate
- 6 Bergen – Kristiansand BGO · KRS · 284 km 35%19% moderate
- 7 Ålesund – Trondheim AES · TRD · 263 km 35%17% moderate
- 8 Ålesund – Bergen AES · BGO · 257 km 34%14% moderate
- 9 Bergen – Ørsta–Volda BGO · HOV · 215 km 33%13% moderate
- 10 Bodø – Mosjøen BOO · MJF · 173 km 33%14% moderate
- 11 Geneva – Zurich GVA · ZRH · 230 km 32%15% moderate
- 12 Stavanger – Trondheim SVG · TRD · 583 km 32%13% moderate
- 13 Geneva – Nice GVA · NCE · 300 km 32%15% moderate
- 14 Ajaccio – Geneva AJA · GVA · 526 km 32%14% moderate
- 15 Basel–Mulhouse – Nice BSL · NCE · 439 km 31%13% moderate
- 16 Lyon – Nice LYS · NCE · 285 km 31%14% moderate
- 17 Bodø – Harstad/Narvik BOO · EVE · 167 km 31%13% moderate
- 18 Nice – Zurich NCE · ZRH · 435 km 31%13% moderate
- 19 Bergen – Oslo BGO · OSL · 325 km 30%14% moderate
- 20 Bergen – Bodø BGO · BOO · 894 km 30%12% moderate
Wind meets mountains, and the Atlantic jet arrives
Most of Europe's top 20 is Norway's coast: short hops between Bergen, Ålesund, Molde, Kristiansund, Trondheim and Bodø. The Atlantic jet stream and its storms come ashore there, against mountains that rise straight out of the sea, so these flights are bumpy far more often than their length suggests, worst in late winter.
The rest is the western Alps: the hops between Geneva, Zurich, Basel, Lyon, Nice and Corsica. They cross some of the steepest terrain any airliner flies over, and about half of their bumps are mountain waves: a strong wind across the ridges sets up waves that reach cruise height. The other half is the winter jet stream overhead.
Over the rest of the continent the winter jet stream decides: it comes in from the Atlantic, strongest from November to March, and the routes that run under it get the wind shear at its edge.
When in the day European routes are smoothest
By local departure time, averaged over every ranked European route.
The smoothest routes in Europe
Long flights across Russia into Siberia, and the hops between the Canary Islands: far from the Atlantic jet and the mountains that catch it.
- 1 St. Petersburg – Yakutsk LED · YKS · 4,842 km 5%1% moderate
- 2 Novosibirsk – Yakutsk OVB · YKS · 2,776 km 5%1% moderate
- 3 Moscow Vnukovo – Yakutsk VKO · YKS · 4,909 km 5%1% moderate
- 4 Moscow Domodedovo – Yakutsk DME · YKS · 4,897 km 6%1% moderate
- 5 Moscow Sheremetyevo – Yakutsk SVO · YKS · 4,871 km 6%1% moderate
- 6 Fuerteventura – Gran Canaria FUE · LPA · 160 km 6%2% moderate
- 7 Moscow Domodedovo – Mirny DME · MJZ · 4,171 km 6%1% moderate
- 8 St. Petersburg – Norilsk LED · NSK · 2,797 km 6%1% moderate
- 9 Lanzarote – Gran Canaria ACE · LPA · 207 km 6%2% moderate
- 10 Moscow Domodedovo – Tomsk DME · TOF · 2,893 km 6%1% moderate
European turbulence questions
What is the most turbulent flight route in Europe?
Bodø–Sandnessjøen, with 39% of the flight time in light-or-worse bumpy air across every snapshot in the report.
Why are flights over the Alps bumpy?
Strong wind crossing high, steep ridges is pushed up, falls back on the far side and keeps oscillating downwind. Those mountain waves reach cruise height. When the föhn blows across the Alps the effect is at its strongest.
Is turbulence worse over the UK or Europe in winter?
Yes, on most routes. The Atlantic jet stream is strongest from December to March, and the storms it brings across the UK and northern Europe make winter the bumpier season there.
Are flights to the Canary Islands or Greece turbulent?
They are among the smoother routes in Europe. Most of the flight is over open sea or flat ground, well south of the winter jet. The approach can be bumpy on a windy day, which is the island's own terrain.
A ranking is the average. Your flight is one day.
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