Singapore Airlines declare turbulence a major in-flight threat
The state has placed clear-air turbulence in the same category as mid-air collisions and incursions on runways.
Singapore has become the first state to classify severe air turbulence as a major in-flight threat after two incidents involving its airliners last year in which a passenger died and dozens were injured.
Abruptly shifting winds, invisible to radar, that jolt cruising airliners without warning have become so serious that the phenomenon must be classified as a “state-level operational safety risk”, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said. That puts it in the same category as the threat from mid-air collisions and unauthorized incursions on runways.
Climate change is mainly blamed for the increasing number of encounters with clear-air turbulence around the world over the past decade. It has become the leading cause of in-flight injuries for passengers and crew worldwide.
What causes flight turbulence - and should passengers be worried?
A Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 from London to Singapore was the victim of one of the worst incidents in May last year. Over Burma it flew into roiling air currents that whipsawed the aircraft, throwing unbelted passengers and personnel into the ceiling and then onto the floor. A 73-year-old Briton died of a heart attack and dozens were injured.
In September last year, a passenger and a cabin crew member were injured on a Guangzhou-bound flight that ran into turbulence over Hong Kong.
“The recent spate of serious aviation safety incidents around the world is a timely reminder that we must stay vigilant and not take safety for granted,” said Han Kok Juan, the CAAS director general, as the authority set out 45 actions for its national airlines.
Other Asian airlines have changed crew procedures, such as methods of serving hot drinks and more extensive use of the seatbelt sign. Korean Air stopped serving ramen instant noodles to avoid scalding injuries.
In the United States last week, two passengers on a United Express flight were treated in hospital and 37 others received medical attention after the aircraft ran into fierce turbulence over Texas. In the US at least 163 people sustained serious injury from turbulence between 2009 and 2022.
Singapore joined Korea and Japan last year in urging the International Civil Aviation Organisation to recognise turbulence explicitly as a threat in its 2026 global aviation safety plan and pave the way for stronger regulation and research.
What causes flight turbulence and how dangerous is it?
Global bodies have been co-coordinating action on turbulence. The International Air Transport Association has a “Turbulence Aware” programme that enables aircraft to share data on turbulence with nearby aircraft.
Artificial intelligence is being developed to predict dangerous shifts in the jet streams, the narrow currents of fast–flowing air at around 30,000 feet in which airliners cruise. The streams, which move from west to east, are powered by differences in the temperature of air masses.
Studies have shown that the more extreme weather caused by climate change is creating fiercer changes in wind speed and direction, or windshear, involving the jet streams. The increase in airline traffic in recent decades has contributed to the rise in clear-air turbulence encounters because more planes are flying through the turbulence-prone corridors; for example, over the north Atlantic and Asia.
Source: External
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