EVERY single time turbulence is in the news, people ask me how dangerous it really is.
And it’s happening once again, with two people getting injured on an easyJet flight from Corfu to London, that had to make an emergency landing in Rome.
From what I read, it sounds like the people on board, who were flight attendants, were thrown against the wall of the aircraft as it began to shake, which can sound pretty terrifying.
They were taken to Rome airport and given medical assistance due to their injuries.
However, there are some simple, but effective steps you can take as passengers to make sure you’re safe, should turbulence hit.
Firstly, turbulence itself isn’t that dangerous – it’s a perfectly normal thing to happen during a flight and it’s not going to bring the plane out of the sky.
Yet, when you’re 30,000ft in the air, it can be a horrible experience.
My advice for anyone scared of turbulence is to prepare as they would for take off or landing when the plane begins to rattle around.
That’s when we’re expecting there to be the most bumps and bangs, so that’s why we ask you to stay in your seat at that moment.
Sticking to the take off and landing rules is honestly the best way to ensure you’re safe when things start to get a little rocky.
Your main concern at that point will be loose objects and people, so make sure you’re strapped in tightly, so you can’t be thrown around.
People colliding with other passengers and objects is the biggest cause of injury during turbulence and it’s easily preventable.
As soon as the seatbelt light is turned on by the pilot, act as if you’re in takeoff or landing mode and get to your seat.
The cabin crew won’t let you walk around anyway, cause we just want you to get to your destination safely.
Secondly, make sure your bag is stowed properly under the seat in front so it can’t fly through the cabin. Any other objects need to be tucked away as safely as possible too,
It’s all well and good you strapping yourself in, but if your bag is loose on the seat next to you, or in the aisle, it’s just as likely to be sent flying, putting people at risk of injury.
Pilot Eser Aksan E revealed the scary truth about flying through turbulence to Sun Online Travel and what it’s like to be behind the yoke during a bumpy flight.
She said: “With severe turbulence, we don’t control the plane.
“That doesn’t mean it’s going to flip upside down or anything, it’s just not in our control at that moment, but it’s still flying.
“It obviously ends at a certain time and then we’re in control again, and we need to gain or lose the altitude or, whatever state the plane’s in, we have to correct that.
“But it’s not really major, we don’t drop like thousands of feet or something like that – that just doesn’t happen. It feels that way. But it doesn’t happen.”
The scariest type of turbulence is known as “clear air turbulence” which cannot be predicted and can be encountered at any time.
That’s the reason why passengers are advised to keep their seatbelts on at all times.
Eser continued: “There’s clear air turbulence and that’s the most difficult one. We cannot see it. We don’t know where it is, and there’s no way we can fly around it.
“That’s the dangerous one because we cannot anticipate it, it just happens.
“That’s the reason why we always tell the passengers they have to have your seatbelt on, even if the seatbelt sign is off, you still need to wear your seatbelt.”
So you need to make sure it’s wedged under the seat where it’s a lot less likely to cause damage to anyone.
Finally, I’d make sure that your tray table is stowed, just to give you that little bit more room.
It could flap up and hit you in the face, or you could get a table to the guts if you’re thrown forward.
You never really know where you’re going to end up during turbulence, or how the plane’s going to shake, so it’s best to move all obstacles and anything that could hurt you out of harm’s way.
Other than that, enjoy the ride. The only way to get past a fear of turbulence is to experience it and see that actually, it’s nothing to really be that scared of.
I know a lot of flight attendants who used to be really scared of it when they first started.
They’re all used to it now and don’t think twice about what they need to do in that situation to help all the passengers on board get through it as comfortably as possible.
So trust us, listen to us and we’ll help you all stay calm and relaxed until the flight is ready to land and you can get on with enjoying your holiday.
Meanwhile, these are the worst seats to sit in when the plane hits turbulence.
And these are the items passengers steal from flight attendants.
