10 most turbulent airports and flight routes in North America

These are likely two lists officials at Pearson Airport in Mississauga are happy to have avoided.

Having found itself near or atop a number of top 10 lists measuring poor performance and traveller experience at airports across North America and around the world in the last couple of years, Pearson is nowhere to be found on a pair of the latest lists measuring turbulence.

Turbli, an online travel tool that provides travellers around the world with the latest information on the most turbulent flight routes and airports, recently released its 2023 data.

It uses weather forecasts that look at wind and thunderstorms to determine which routes and airports experience the most turbulence.

While four Canadian airports found themselves among the top 10 most turbulent airports in North America last year, Pearson was not on the list.

The data identified airports that experience, on average, the most turbulence related to both arriving and departing flights.

Vancouver International Airport, at No. 4, was the top Canadian airport on the list, trailing Portland International Airport (Oregon), which claimed top spot, followed by international airports in Denver and Las Vegas.

Most turbulent North American airports in 2023. (Source: Turbli)

Salt Lake City International Airport rounded out the top five, followed by airports in Prince George (BC), Calgary, Quebec City, Reno (Nevada) and Seattle.

Additionally, as far as bumpy plane trips are concerned, of the top 10 most turbulent flight routes in North America in 2023, not only did none include Pearson Airport — but none included any Canadian spot.

According to Turbli, a total of 150,000 air travel routes were analyzed.

Here’s a list of the 10 bumpiest air travel routes in North America last year, from most turbulent flight route to least:

• Nashville International Airport to Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina
• Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina to Pittsburgh International Airport
• Denver International Airport to Puerto Vallarta International Airport in Mexico
• JFK International Airport in New York City to Raleigh-Durham
• T.F. Green International Airport in Warwick, Rhode Island to Hancock International Airport in Syracuse, N.Y.
• Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to Dulles International Airport in Virginia
• Pittsburgh to Raleigh-Durham
• LaGuardia Airport in New York City to Portland International Jetport in Oregon
• Boston Logan International Airport to Syracuse Hancock
• Boston Logan to Philadelphia International Airport