IATA using technology to manage turbulence

Clear skies

MIKE DUNBAR

(Photo above: Katya Vashchankova)

Anyone who flies frequently knows that turbulence – especially the clear-air variety – is at best stomach-churning, but potentially dangerous at worst. That’s why travellers who know best keep
their seat belts loosely fastened at all times when they’re seated.

Turbulence is also a major concern for airlines, since it’s the leading cause of injuries to cabin crew and passengers in non-fatal accidents, and it costs the industry millions of dollars annually due to inflight diversions to obtain medical help, as well as the cost of damaged aircraft interiors, excessive fuel burn and CO2 emissions.

According to Katya Vashchankova, the head of IATA’s meteorological program (MET), existing tools for managing turbulence have limitations; with airlines relying on pilot reports and weather advisories to mitigate the impact of turbulence on their operations.

But she told a press briefing that there is no standardized scale for the severity of turbulence that a pilot may report other than a light, moderate or severe scale, which “becomes very subjective and can depend on aircraft size and pilot experience.”

Compounding that, Vashchankova said that weather forecasts can be many hours old and potentially inaccurate, while weather radar can spur avoidance due to thunderstorms, but cannot detect clear air turbulence.

Finding a solution
The solution lies with technology she stated, noting that there is already an industry shift to data-driven turbulence management.

“Recent technical advancements now enable aircraft to accurately calculate the state of the atmosphere inflight,” she explained, adding, “Airlines use existing sensor data that is run through an algorithm to calculate turbulence values. The values are then compiled into a report that also includes a time stamp, aircraft position and altitude and automated real-time turbulence reports are sent to the ground using standard aircraft communication systems.”

A number of airlines are currently employing turbulence reporting products, but they don’t look at turbulence beyond their own operations, leaving pilots and flight dispatchers with coverage gaps, making it more difficult to plan and fly around areas of turbulence, the MET exec pointed out.

That’s why airlines asked IATA to become the global data consolidator. “With many airlines contributing their turbulence data to a shared database, the industry will be able to see beyond their own data viewing reports from other carriers, ultimately improving turbulence mitigation,” said Vashchankova.

In order to get the project off the ground, IATA engaged UK-based Snowflake Software to build the first global turbulence data sharing platform.

Data sharing
The platform, dubbed Turbulence Aware, collects data from airlines or third-party ground servers in real time. The data is consolidated, quality controlled and anonymized – a process that lasts 30 seconds
maximum – and airlines use their own flight planning and inflight tools to integrate the data.

It appears that Turbulence Aware has come along just in time, since IATA says the challenge of managing turbulence is expected to grow, as climate change continues to impact weather patterns.

Vashchankova stated, “As we progress to having accurate turbulence data available at all flight levels, pilots will be able to make much more informed decisions about higher flight levels with smoother air. Being able to climb to these levels will result in more optimal fuel burn, which will ultimately lead to reduced CO2 emissions.”

She told reporters that the first operational version of the platform has already been developed and, “2019 will be focused on onboarding live data from various airlines into the platform and using it in real-time operations for test purposes, leading to a full launch in January 2020.

The program head called Turbulence Aware a “highly collaborative development with some 14 airlines from around the world, including WestJet, participating in the project, as part of an advisory council.

IATA director general Alexandre de Juniac declared, “Turbulence Aware is a great example of the potential for digital transformation in the airline industry.”

“Big data is now turbocharging what we can achieve and, in the case of Turbulence Aware, the more precise forecasting will provide a real improvement for passengers.”