Summary World aviation regulators are meeting in Montréal to address the impact of turbulence on flight safety and passengers' well-being. The Republic of Korea is urging collaboration among airlines to prevent turbulence-related accidents. Japan, Singapore, and other countries propose sharing data to increase aviation safety worldwide.
World aviation regulators are gathering in Montréal to discuss the industry's future. One of the topics discussed on the first day was turbulence. Although it is a natural part of the flying process, it has become a hot topic in recent months, following several notable instances of turbulence-related injuries.
What are they saying? The summit is being hosted by the International Civil Aviation Organization ( ICAO ), a United Nations agency that helps 193 member nations coordinate and cooperate to ensure the skies are open and safe for flights worldwide. Meeting for the 14th Air Navigation Summit in Canada, representatives from member nations gathered to discuss the theme "Performance Improvement Driving Sustainability" and reach a global consensus on performance improvement initiatives needed to address aviation's global environmental challenges and the rapid evolution in aviation operations and technologies. A brief history of the agency that’s brought aviation more than 12,000 international standards and recommended practices.
The Republic of Korea is leading the way at this latest conference to encourage airlines to collaborate to prevent turbulence-related incidents. It cited that " around 40%" of accidents involving the Republic of Korea's commercial aircraft operators over the past decade were caused by turbulence. A working paper submitted to the UN Agency by South Korea includes studies on turbulence that indicate climate change impacts upper atmospheric turbulence, revealing an increase in turbulence due to various factors.
This consequently affects the safety of passengers and crews, increasing aircraft structural stress and fatigue, which can result in higher maintenance frequencies and reduced aircraft lifespan. The changes will affect Korean Air's medium and long-haul flights. In its proposal, the country recommends requiring aircraft operators to report turbulence intensity using eddy dissipation rate (EDR) when air-ground datalink is used, and these reports should be transmitted to meteorological offices without delay.
It further calls on the ICAO to do the following: "Establish mechanisms for cooperation and support among Member States, international organizations, and industries to facilitate the collection and sharing of meteorological observation data related to turbulence; and develop mechanisms for cross-border meteorological data sharing and exchange to support the improvement of the accuracy of weather forecasts by meteorological authorities." The South Korean flag carrier recently announced it would no longer serve instant noodles due to the risk of burn-related injuries from the boiling liquid. A scientific consensus.
A second paper presented to the conference by Japan and Singapore (co-sponsored by the Philippines, Thailand, Airports Council International, and the International Air Transport Association ) expounds upon the Korean one with even more information. It provides scientific evidence that climate change may lead to more severe weather patterns, which could lead to more turbulence-related accidents. It highlights the recent data from ICAO's 2024 Annual Safety Report that found turbulence accounted last year for around 40% (24) of all accidents involving large aircraft in scheduled commercial operations, followed by accidents relating to abnormal runway contact (8).
Similarly, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found : "Turbulence has caused more serious injuries to passengers than any other class of accident." Fortunately, the injuries were reported as minor and the flight continued safely to Taiwan. To rectify these, the paper proposes several key ways member countries and aviation regulatory bodies share relevant data to reduce the frequency of turbulence-related incidents in the future, including: Acknowledge that turbulence encounter continues to be a global operational risk in the 2026-2028 edition of the Global Aviation Safety Plan.
Encourage States and industries to share experiences or best practices related to turbulence encounters among stakeholders. Further encourage States and operators to consider making necessary arrangements to improve the availability of air reports containing quantitative turbulence information. According to Reuters , the ICAO has indicated that its 193 member states will decide on the proposals at their triennial assembly next year.
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