The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says it is “expanding the transmission of its Turbulence Aware data for use within industry-leading aviation solutions by The Weather Company”, which serves many commercial airlines globally.
IATA says with this enhancement, “Participating airlines can now access Eddy Dissipation Rate (EDR) turbulence data directly through Fusion and Pilotbrief tools by The Weather Company. IATA Turbulence Aware will be enabled as an additional data layer within these tools, allowing pilots, dispatchers and flight planners to have needed turbulence observations integrated directly into their mission critical applications in one place rather than relying on multiple screens.”
Accessing real-time, accurate turbulence information enables pilots and dispatchers to choose optimal flight paths, avoid turbulence and fly at optimum levels to maximize fuel efficiency and thereby reduce CO2 emissions. IATA Turbulence Aware was launched in 2018 to help airlines mitigate the impact of turbulence, which is a leading cause of passenger and crew injuries and higher fuel costs each year. The platform pools anonymized EDR turbulence data from thousands of flights operated by participating airlines. EDR is the official ICAO and WMO atmospheric turbulence intensity metric.
Ravi Vanmali, head of aviation for The Weather Company said: “As weather grows more impactful due to a changing climate, it is critical now more than ever for aviation leaders to incorporate accurate, real-time, globally scaled weather data and insights within decisions. Reliable weather data and forecasts, combined with human expertise, can help airlines and pilots plan around inclement weather and turbulence, improve crew and passenger safety, and mitigate impact to the bottom line.”
Frederic Leger, IATA’s Senior Vice President Commercial Products & Services made it known that it is the association’s aim to make access to turbulence-related data as simple as possible. “By collaborating with The Weather Company, IATA Turbulence Aware data will be available to pilots and dispatchers through existing flight deck and flight planning applications and tools, enhancing the decision-making process in turbulence mitigation and avoidance”, he said.
Managing turbulence is expected to remain challenging, as climate change continues to impact weather patterns. This has implications for both safety and efficiency of flight. Turbulence Aware provides a significant improvement in turbulence reporting and avoiding excess fuel consumption.
According to IATA, presently, “21 airlines participate in the IATA Turbulence Aware Platform with more than 2,000 aircraft providing data daily. In 2023, a total of over 380 million turbulence observations was generated. Thanks to the data provided by Turbulence Aware, over 700 million passengers* have enjoyed a safer and more comfortable travel experience.”