Hate it or tolerate it, turbulence is a natural part of flying. But if you do have a genuine fear of turbulence, also known as Aerophobia, then you might want to steer clear of the world’s bumpiest routes. 

Turbulence forecast website, turbli.com, analysed more than 150,000 long-haul and short-haul flight records from 2023 to identify the most turbulent routes. The website also looked at data from 500 of the world’s largest airports to uncover which landings and takeoffs are likely to leave you feeling a little queasy. 

The most turbulent route in the world is that from Santiago, Chile, to Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Coming in second is Almaty, Kazakhstan, to  Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, followed by China’s Lanzhou to Chengdu route. In fourth place was Japan’s Centrair to Sendai route. Milan, Italy, to Geneva, Switzerland, landed in fifth place. 

When it came to the Oceania region, the top spot was taken out by one of Australia’s most popular domestic routes. Brisbane to Sydney is considered one of the most turbulent routes to take in the region. In second place was Port Vila, Vanuatu, to Auckland, New Zealand. Australia’s most popular domestic route, Melbourne to Sydney came in third. 

The top ten list was rounded out by the following routes: 

1. Brisbane (BNE) – Sydney (SYD)
2. Port Vila (VLI) – Auckland (AKL)
3. Melbourne (MEL) – Sydney (SYD)
4. Port Vila (VLI) – Brisbane (BNE)
5. Port Vila (VLI) – Sydney (SYD)
6. Port Vila (VLI) – Melbourne (MEL)
7. Brisbane (BNE) – Melbourne (MEL)
8. Brisbane (BNE) – Adelaide (ADL)
9. Brisbane (BNE) – Darwin (DRW)
10. Auckland (AKL) – Christchurch (CHC)

Across the ditch, Wellington and Christchurch landed the number 3 and 10 spots, respectively, in the 10 most turbulent airports in the world. Thankfully, no Australian airport made the cut. 

Related story: AirlineRatings.com reveals 2024 world’s safest airline rankings