The Most Turbulent Flight Route on Every Continent

"Even for the calmest of fliers, a sudden bout of unexpected turbulence can be unnerving, especially when it's the kind to jolt you from your seat and send drinks on your tray table flying. Luckily, that kind of extreme turbulence is rare, and even when it does occur, it's unlikely to cause any real safety issues to your flight. But some flight routes around the world are far more prone to turbulence than others, due to the terrain they fly over and weather conditions en route."

"For 2025, the world's most turbulent flight route was between Mendoza and Santiago, a 120-mile journey between Argentina and Chile, crossing the rugged peaks of the Andes. The 275-mile route between Xining and Yinchuan in Northwest China was next. All of the top 10 routes were short-to-medium haul flights, although data revealed the 3,105-mile journey between Avarua, in the Cook Islands and Sydney, Australia, to be the world's most turbulent long-haul route."

Unexpected turbulence can jolt passengers and spill drinks, but extreme turbulence is rare and unlikely to cause significant safety issues. Terrain and weather patterns drive higher turbulence on specific flight corridors. Turbli analyzed about 10,000 routes connecting the world's 550 largest airports and ranked routes by eddy dissipation rate to measure turbulence intensity. The Mendoza–Santiago route topped the 2025 list, followed by several routes in northwest China. Five of the top ten routes were in China, four in South America, and one in the United States. Short-to-medium-haul routes dominated the list, while Avarua–Sydney was the most turbulent long-haul leg.

Read at Conde Nast Traveler