Research is suggesting that air turbulence has become more frequent and severe because of climate change.  Most in flight turbulence disturbances are harmless as long as safety advice is followed, but more intense instances of turbulence could create a more stressful flying experience for passengers and crew. In this piece, Ashley Easen, Director of Risk & ESG at Gallagher Bassett UK assess what this new norm could mean. 

A recent article by Smithsonian Magazine Climate Change Is Making Airplane Turbulence More Common and Severe, Scientists Say | Smithsonian (smithsonianmag.com) talks of a study conducted in 2019 which suggested that higher atmospheric temperatures as a result of global warming have played their part in contributing to a greater frequency of turbulent incidents. 

In May of this year, a Singapore Airlines flight hit severe turbulence over the Indian Ocean and in just one second, the plane dropped by 178 feet.  Sadly one man lost his life and others were injured. The news of the incident has sparked global debate on the science behind the 'why'.

The 2019 survey findings suggest that 'turbulence strong enough to pose a risk of injury could become two or three times more likely over the North Atlantic between 2050 and 2080'.

There is currently no automatic right to receive compensation from your airline for having experienced turbulence on a flight.  You could be injured during the incident from falling objects, scalded by a spilt hot drink or hurt by your seatbelt.  For a claim to succeed you would have to be able to show that the airline or its crew were negligent and that you were injured as a result. If however, you were injured because you didn’t adhere to the safety advice / captains orders then its likely a claim would not be successful.  It will inevitably mean that more people will submit claims to their travel insurer seeking compensation and the industry needs to be prepared to receive these and be able to respond promptly and decisively on whether the peril is covered under the policy.

We have seen a shift in recent years making it easier to receive compensation for delayed or cancelled flights and could see a change in claims landscape in the future in relation to turbulence claims - it's currently a 'wait and see' situation.

The real challenge will be watching to see how the travel and tourism industry can reach a net zero environmental target. The World Economic Forum is clear that the industry must do much more to meaningfully mitigate and reverse climate collapse. We know that extreme weather events are affecting the entire world at an increasing and alarming pace.  Human activity is driving climate change and we can all play our part in mitigating the risk.