Aviation regulators urge global action to reduce turbulence injuries

Aviation officials from Asia are calling for global action to reduce injuries from turbulence. Recent high-profile incidents have prompted calls to improve forecasting across borders, at a meeting of regulators in Montreal that begins Monday.

Although turbulence is not often fatal, it is the leading cause of accidents, according to data from the UN aviation agency. Experts say extreme weather conditions caused by climate change could lead to more accidents.

It is one of the issues being discussed by international regulators at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) aviation conference, which runs until September 6.

These flight routes experience the worst turbulence in the world

Concerns about turbulence on planes have grown since a serious incident on a Singapore Airlines flight from London in May, leaving one person dead and dozens injured.

Countries including Japan, Korea and Singapore want turbulence added as a category in ICAO’s 2026 Global Aviation Safety Plan, which sets out industry priorities, according to event working documents. ICAO said a decision will be made by its 193 member states at next year’s triennial meeting.

Japan and other countries want ICAO to improve real-time coordination of weather and turbulence data sharing across borders, while countries take steps to make warnings more user-friendly for pilots, an official at the country’s civil aviation agency said.

Some countries in Asia are already taking steps to make that information, which is now mostly sent in text form, more visually accessible.

According to the ICAO 2024 Annual Safety Report, turbulence was the cause of about 40% of all accidents involving large aircraft on commercial airliners last year.

Although not currently mandatory in Japan, airline All Nippon Airways now voluntarily broadcasts a safety video at the beginning of and during flights to prevent accidents due to turbulence.

Korean Air announced in August that it would stop serving instant cup noodles, a popular Korean snack known as ramyeon that requires boiling water, on long-haul flights, as part of changes in response to increased turbulence.

(Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal and Maki Shiraki in Tokyo. Additional reporting by Lisa Barrington in Seoul; Editing by William Maclean)

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