Sharing of Turbulence Data Expands - Platform Aware of Air Turbulence
Improving Air Travel Safety and Efficiency: IATA's Turbulence Aware Platform
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has introduced a groundbreaking platform called Turbulence Aware, aimed at enhancing flight safety, promoting greener operations, and making air travel more comfortable for passengers.
Turbulence Prediction and Data Sharing
Turbulence Aware anonymously shares real-time turbulence data among participating airlines, enabling them to better anticipate and avoid turbulence zones. This data sharing creates a more collaborative safety environment, helping airlines to react proactively rather than reactively to turbulence conditions during flights.
Fuel Efficiency
By leveraging real-time turbulence data, airlines can adjust flight routes dynamically to avoid turbulent air, thereby reducing unnecessary altitude changes and detours. These real-time route optimizations result in fuel savings, making each flight more energy-efficient and reducing fuel consumption and emissions.
Collaborative Approaches and Big Data
The Turbulence Aware platform is a prime example of "big data" usage in the airline industry. IATA collaborates with Snowflake Software for the development of this platform, demonstrating the potential of collaborative approaches to addressing challenges in the airline industry.
Participating Airlines and Global Coverage
The program now includes Air France, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, China Southern Airlines, EasyJet, Japan Airlines, Lufthansa, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Southwest, Swiss, WestJet, in addition to the initial members Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and Aer Lingus. This wide range of airlines covers a large portion of the world, potentially making flights more comfortable for passengers and reducing the impact of turbulence on air travel.
Privacy and Accessibility
By sharing turbulence data anonymously, the privacy of the airline's commercial operations is ensured. Turbulence Aware is accessible to the cockpit team through tablet PCs, allowing pilots to see turbulence points and their levels on a route instantly, and make small changes to avoid turbulence if necessary.
Reducing Disturbance and Fuel Losses
In non-severe turbulence conditions, it is possible to fly without changing the route by just warning the cabin crew and passengers about the situation, saving time and fuel. In extreme turbulence conditions, the data sharing aims to minimize passenger and cabin crew injuries. Fuel losses due to speed loss caused by turbulence and carbon emissions related to these incidents are expected to decrease as a result of the data sharing.
In conclusion, IATA’s Turbulence Aware has significantly enhanced flight safety through improved turbulence forecasting and sharing, while also promoting greener and more fuel-efficient operations by allowing airlines to optimize routes in real time to minimize turbulence encounters and associated fuel burn.
Technology plays a crucial role in the Turbulence Aware platform, as it leverages data-and-cloud-computing capabilities to anonymously share real-time turbulence data among participating airlines. The aerospace industry, specifically IATA, collaborates with technology firms like Snowflake Software to develop such platforms.
The Turbulence Aware program, involving aerospace giants such as Air France, American Airlines, and others, demonstrates the potential impact of technology-driven collaborative strategies on the efficiency and safety of the finance industry, (which is heavily reliant on fuel costs) by optimizing routes for fuel savings and reducing emissions.
