Clark: Emirates observes increase in turbulence | News

Emirates is seeing an increase in turbulence on its flights, prompting the industry to “step up its efforts,” according to airline president Tim Clark.

Following a high-profile incident on a Singapore Airlines flight on May 21, Clark told IATA’s annual general meeting on June 2 that Emirates had already noticed an increase in the number of “clear air turbulence” incidents.

“Even before, there were signs that while we couldn’t see a geographic trend as to where these things were happening, we did see an increase in turbulence,” he says.

“Some say it’s because of climate change. Some say there are a lot more flights today than there used to be, but the fact is that the number of flights is increasing.”

Therefore, the Singapore Airlines incident was a “coincidence” and the industry realized that something was going on, he says.

“We’ve had our own share of problems,” Clark explains. “Not as bad as Singapore Airlines, unfortunately, but let’s be honest… if you don’t have people buckled in, clear-sky turbulence and altitude changes are a real risk.”

“The entire industry is now placing greater emphasis on ensuring that passengers are buckled up.”

Clark describes the issue as “not a real problem” and “solvable,” adding: “We are reviewing all protocols. We will approach this with caution.”

In addition, Emirates is trying to use artificial intelligence to predict when incidents might occur, he says.

“We can predict weather patterns and the components of clear-air turbulence by considering jet stream wind speeds, jet stream motion, jet stream latitudes, and the combination of upper-atmosphere winds that create these vortices,” Clark explains.

“In the meantime, as a result (of the Singapore Airlines incident), you will see the industry … become much more concerned about making sure people are in their seats and buckled up as best as possible.”