Is Air Travel Getting More Turbulent?

Jenn: [00:00:00] Hey, everyone, and welcome back to Travel Tip Tuesday with the Travel Mug Podcast. I am Jenn, joined as always by my partner in podcasting, Meggan. So Meggan, as you know, 'cause I texted you through this, I was recently in Montreal for a family wedding, and we had such a great time. But the flight there was probably one of the worst that I've had, and it was mostly because it was pretty turbulent for the last half of the flight, and we did have to circle Montreal for a little bit before we could land because of thunderstorms. I will say this is, this is not the most turbulence I've ever experienced on a flight, and I don't know if it was the fact that we ate the Mexican food at the airport getting on the plane, but I ended up getting really motion sick, and it was brutal. I threw up, like, [00:01:00] multiple times in the

Meggan: Like all on the plane

Jenn: the plane, they had, luckily, somehow, by some miracle, there was, like, three barf bags in the seat pocket on

Meggan: Were there other... Okay, we need to stop there. Were there other people in the row with you besides Ryan?

Jenn: No.

Meggan: Oh, good. I'm so glad

Jenn: it was like a two, four, two configuration, so there was like four people in the, in the middle and then two on each side. Um, so yeah, there was no one else with me and Ryan, so that was nice.

Meggan: And again, this is could be TMI, but I know, uh, I know what kind of vomiter I am. Are you a, a dainty vomiter?

Jenn: Uh, I mean, I think I was trying to be, like, super quiet. And I was in the window, so I was, like, just trying to, like, hide myself. I was really embarrassed. Um, Ryan was like, "Nobody noticed," except, like, once the plane landed and we were, like, you know, sitting, like, waiting, standing to, like, get off, this guy looked at me and he's like, "Are you feeling better?"

And [00:02:00] I was like, "Ugh."

Meggan: as dainty as I hoped. Okay, continue. These were my questions. Go on

Jenn: I am, like, I am prone to motion sickness, so I've never gotten that sick on a plane. Um, and I actually, like, I'm prone to being nauseous from, from motion sickness, but I'm not usually... Like, I don't usually throw up. Anyway, I was mentioning to this at the wedding, uh, to someone, and they told me that they had heard or read that air turbulence has increased and will continue to increase, and I was like, "Thank you, sir. That's lovely to know." Um, so of course I had to, like, look this up, right? So what I read, so according to a BBC Science article, turbulence is caused by changes in airflow, which is most commonly caused by storms, weather fronts, other aircraft wakes, or - air being forced upwards, like, over mountains. And a lot of these things can be forecast and monitored, which is why air- [00:03:00] air pilots turn on the, the seatbelt sign and say, like, "We're going through some turbulence." But there is something called clear air turbulence, which is sudden and severe, which is definitely not what we experienced. Like, it wasn't that severe.

Meggan: Right

Jenn: it is caused by wind shear at the boundary of two air masses traveling at very different speeds. So yes, we're getting weather technical. Uh, so, like, the, the jet stream and the surrounding air.

Meggan: Okay

Jenn: And so what I read in the article is that meteorologists and aviation experts warn that turbulence will only increase as weather patterns change and intensify due to climate change, of course. So by 2050, the authors are warning that pilots can expect to encounter at least twice or maybe even three times as much severe turbulence as they do today if the current warming trends continue. So that definitely sucks and is another reason to fight climate change

Meggan: My [00:04:00] God, I never even thought of that

Jenn: I know. So here, here comes my tips. Tip one is to pack Gravol, you are any way prone to motion sickness. It was pretty, like, it was like 8:00 PM by the time we got to our hotel in Montreal, and it was slightly difficult to get Gravol in Quebec, or at least in Montreal. You need a patient profile at the pharmacy to get it. Um, so it's like, it's, you don't need a prescription, but you do need to have, like, create a, a patient profile with the pharmacy. They won't just hand it to you. Uh, the second tip is to always wear your seatbelt when you are sitting, as unexpected turbulence, like I said, is becoming more frequent, and people have been injured by this severe turbulence.

So Meggan have you noticed, like, just with flying recently that you've noticed more turbulence, or have you not really noticed?

Meggan: Necessarily. I would say everything we've experienced has been pretty typical. I [00:05:00] was talking to Peter about your experience though, and he doesn't get airsick, but his stomach is upset most of the time when he flies. So I was telling him about your experience, and then of course the Gravol thing. So it has inspired him that next time we travel, he likely, if it's overnight, because I wouldn't wanna necessarily take it, 'cause it also can make you drowsy, I think.

So he would take that. So that's a different topic. So in terms of like t- like turbulence, not so much, but I mean, that's a, that's a terrifying thought twice or three times potentially is bad. So let's keep our fingers crossed that, that that doesn't happen

Jenn: yeah. I, uh, took preemptive Gravol before we left Montreal when we were flying home, and I did still get, like, a l- a wee bit nauseous but not, uh, I didn't throw up or anything, and it was much better. So

Meggan: That's good

Jenn: that's all I have this week. I've got my Gravol packed and ready to go with me to Copenhagen next week, so, [00:06:00] I'll let you know how that goes on my, my Copenhagen trip report episode.

But let us know, listeners, if you have found that flying is more turbulent lately. You can find us on social media at Travel Mug Podcast and on our website, travelmugpodcast.com. You can support the show through Buy Me A Coffee or by leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or by sharing the show with a travel-loving pal. And until next time, safe travels everyone, and don't forget your travel mug.