The most turbulent flight routes and airports, and why

Key facts

• Turbli, a turbulence-forecast website, ranked nearly 10,000 routes for 2025 using turbulence forecast data from NOAA and the UK Met Office; Mendoza to Santiago came first with an average of 22.983. [1][2]
• The other nine routes in the 2025 global top 10 averaged between 18.18 and 18.935, inside the 0 to 20 band that Turbli's scale calls light. [1][3]
• Denver to Jackson, Wyoming (18.18) was North America's most turbulent route in 2025 and 10th in the world. [1][2]
• Santiago was the roughest airport worldwide in 2025, and Denver (17.91) the roughest in North America; the airport ranking covers approach and descent. [3]
• Mountain waves form when winds of 25 knots or more blow across a ridge, and they can reach 100 miles or more downwind. [4]
• Moderate clear-air turbulence is more likely over the oceans than the continents, more likely in the midlatitudes where the jet streams sit, and more likely over the Andes and Rockies. [5]
• Turbulence from storms and rising air was present in 57.7% of turbulence-related US airline accidents from 2009 to 2018. [6]

The 2025 ranking at a glance

Turbli ranks routes each year by average turbulence, measured as eddy dissipation rate (EDR), the aviation-standard measure of how rough the air is. The scores come from forecast data along each route over the whole year, not from sensors on your particular flight. [1][2] On Turbli's scale, 0 to 20 is light and 20 to 40 is moderate. [3]

Selected entries from Turbli's 2025 top 10, as reported in March 2026. [1] Five of the ten were in western China, four were in South America along the Andes, and one was in the American Rockies. [1] The pattern is stable: Mendoza to Santiago also topped the 2024 list, with an average of 24.684, and that year's top 10 also included Himalayan routes such as Kathmandu to Lhasa. [7]

North America: the Mountain West

Every route in North America's 2025 top five touches the Rockies: Denver to Jackson and Albuquerque to Denver (both 18.18), then Jackson to Salt Lake City, Denver to Salt Lake City and Bozeman to Denver. All five averaged in the light band. [2] The airport list looks the same: Denver (17.91), Bozeman (17.55), Albuquerque (16.62), Salt Lake City (16.56) and Jackson Hole (16.39) led North America, with terrain, mountain waves and thermals named as the causes. [3] Flying there soon? Our guide to Denver turbulence explains what to expect and the calmest times to fly.

Europe: the Alps

In Turbli's European list reported in January 2025, Nice to Geneva came first, followed by other routes between cities such as Nice, Geneva, Zurich, Milan and Lyon that cross or skirt the Alps. [8]

Why mountains make the bumpiest routes

When strong wind blows nearly straight across a long mountain ridge in stable air, the air is lifted over the crest and then bounces up and down on the far side, like water flowing over a rock in a stream. These are mountain waves. [9] They need winds of at least 25 knots across the ridge, and they can repeat for 100 miles or more downwind. [4][9] The windward side is usually smooth; the bumps are on the lee side, and especially in the tumbling air under the waves, called the rotor. [9] Stationary, lens-shaped lenticular clouds over or behind a range are their calling card. [9]

Because they need strong wind, mountain waves are most common in the windy cold months; in a National Weather Service study of 24 events over the southern Rockies, none was documented from May through October. [9] Global weather records point the same way: the Andes and Rockies have higher odds of moderate clear-air turbulence, possibly from breaking mountain waves. [5]

Why short mountain hops top the list

Mendoza to Santiago is only 196 km long. [1] A short flight across a range spends most of its time climbing and descending near the peaks instead of cruising far above them, and that lower air is where mountain bumps live. It fits the National Transportation Safety Board's finding that about half of US airline turbulence accidents happened during descent or approach, and that 65% of the descent accidents with a known altitude happened below 20,000 feet. [6] It is also why the airport ranking, which covers approach and descent, is led by mountain airports. [3]

Why ocean crossings meet jet stream bumps

Jet streams are fast rivers of wind around 30,000 feet that can exceed 275 mph, and they are strongest in winter. [10] Where wind speed changes sharply around them, the air can get bumpy without a cloud in sight: clear-air turbulence. [4][6] A 2023 study in Geophysical Research Letters found moderate clear-air turbulence more likely over the oceans than the continents and in the midlatitudes where jet streams sit, with the Northern Hemisphere midlatitudes roughly twice as likely as the Southern. [5]

Over the North Atlantic, the same study found more clear-air turbulence in autumn and winter than in spring and summer, and a 55% rise in severe clear-air turbulence from 1979 to 2020. [5] Even so, the chance of moderate-or-greater clear-air turbulence at a given point there was nearly 1.1% in 2020. [5] Long-haul flights rarely appear in the yearly rankings, partly because a 10-hour average includes many smooth hours. For the world's busiest routes in winter, see our study of the bumpiest busy flight routes.

Why the tropics get storm bumps

Near the equator, the trade winds of both hemispheres meet in a band called the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Warm, humid air rises there in an almost endless series of thunderstorms, and the band shifts with the seasons. [11] The UK Met Office notes that parts of the USA and Southeast Asia are also frequently affected by storm turbulence, especially during storm seasons. [12] Storm turbulence was involved in more US airline turbulence accidents than any other type [6], so crews plan around storms using forecasts, pilot reports and SIGMETs.

How to read these rankings calmly

• They are yearly averages from forecast data, not a prediction for your flight. A listed route can be glassy on a calm day, and an unlisted one can be bumpy on a stormy day.
• Even the top routes average light or just over it on Turbli's own scale. [1][3]
• These are regular airline routes, and crews get forecasts and pilot reports along the way. For a deeper look at why bumps are uncomfortable rather than dangerous, see is turbulence dangerous?
• Your seat belt does the heavy lifting. In the NTSB review, only 1 of the 123 people seriously injured in US airline turbulence accidents from 2009 to 2018 was documented as wearing a seat belt. [6]

If you're flying one of these routes

1. Check the forecast for your day, not the yearly ranking. A turbulence forecast for your route and time tells you far more.
2. Pick a morning flight on warm days when you can; afternoon heating adds thermals and storms. Our guide to the best time to fly explains why.
3. Expect some bumps on the way down into a mountain airport; that's normal there.
4. Sit over the wing (see the best seat for turbulence), keep your belt fastened whenever you're seated, and always follow your crew.

How Sorapuff helps

A ranking describes a route's whole year; Sorapuff's route turbulence forecast looks at your flight. It reads NOAA's free GFS weather model, SIGMET storm warnings and recent pilot reports along your route, then shows a minute-by-minute timeline of smooth, light or moderate air. It's a likelihood, never a promise. One forecast is free; Sorapuff Pro ($14.99 once) forecasts every flight up to three days ahead.

FAQ

What is the most turbulent flight route in the world?

In Turbli's 2025 ranking, the most turbulent route was Mendoza, Argentina, to Santiago, Chile, with an average score of 22.983, the top spot for the second year in a row. The flight is only 196 km but crosses the high Andes, where strong winds over the peaks create mountain waves. Its yearly average sits just above the line between light and moderate on Turbli's scale.

What is the most turbulent airport in the US?

Denver International Airport, according to Turbli's 2025 airport ranking, with an average score of 17.91 during approach and descent. Bozeman, Albuquerque, Salt Lake City and Jackson Hole followed. All five sit in or beside the Rocky Mountains, where wind over the peaks creates mountain waves, and all five averaged in the light band of Turbli's scale.

What is the most turbulent flight route in the US?

Denver to Jackson, Wyoming, and Albuquerque to Denver tied for first in North America in Turbli's 2025 ranking, both averaging 18.18. Jackson to Salt Lake City, Denver to Salt Lake City and Bozeman to Denver came next. All of them are short flights over the Rockies, and all averaged in the light band.

Which ocean crossing has the most turbulence?

Clear-air turbulence is most likely over the Northern Hemisphere's midlatitude oceans, such as the North Atlantic, where strong jet streams sit. A 2023 study found the North Atlantic among the places where it has increased the most since 1979, with more in autumn and winter. Still, the chance of moderate-or-greater clear-air turbulence at a given point there was about 1.1% in 2020.

Is it safe to fly the most turbulent routes?

These are regular airline routes, and even the roughest average light to just above light on Turbli's scale. The main risk in turbulence is being unbelted: the NTSB found that occupants wearing a seat belt were, in general, not seriously injured in US airline turbulence accidents. Keep your belt fastened whenever you're seated, and follow your crew's instructions.

Sources

1. The most turbulent flight routes in the U.S. and around the world (Turbli's 2025 ranking), Your Mileage May Vary, March 2026
2. The most turbulent flight routes in the US for airline passengers may surprise you, Fox News, January 2026
3. North America's most turbulent airports in 2025, Aviation A2Z, January 2026
4. Turbulence (aviation weather training page), National Weather Service
5. Evidence for Large Increases in Clear-Air Turbulence Over the Past Four Decades, Geophysical Research Letters (2023)
6. Preventing Turbulence-Related Injuries in Air Carrier Operations Conducted Under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121, NTSB/SS-21/01 (2021), National Transportation Safety Board
7. These Are the Most Turbulent Flight Routes in the World (Turbli's 2024 ranking), Travel + Leisure via AOL, March 2025
8. The most turbulent routes across Europe, Travel Tomorrow, January 2025
9. Mountain Wave Activity Over the Southern Rockies (2005), National Weather Service Albuquerque Center Weather Service Unit
10. The Jet Stream, NOAA JetStream (National Weather Service)
11. The Intertropical Convergence Zone, NASA Earth Observatory
12. Turbulent flights and the climate connection, Met Office, October 2025