With the busy summer travel season upon us, there's literally anxiety in the air for many people flying out of airports across the country, which prompted two air travel experts to speak at a rally in San Francisco on Tuesday called “Is It Safe to Fly?”
Accidents like the one in which a Singapore Airlines jet encountered severe turbulence, injuring more than 100 people and killing one person from a heart attack, can cause anxiety for some travelers planning to travel by air.
“What we're hearing in focus groups is, 'I'm more worried about flying,'” said Henry Hartfeldt of the Atmospheric Research Group.
One reason for the estimated 20% increase in planes experiencing extreme turbulence is climate change, which destabilizes the jet stream.
“We're going to see more and more of this kind of severe turbulence in the future,” said Doug Yakel, a spokesman for San Francisco International Airport, “because the jet stream is essentially being supercharged by climate change.”
It's not just turbulence that's causing anxiety in the skies: Boeing, a major manufacturer of commercial jetliners, is also contributing to the uncertainty.
“People are concerned about the 737 Max,” Hartfeldt said, “and that's what I hear most often. They're still just concerned about the safety of that plane.”
Both experts agree that the FAA has done a good job of dealing with the recent pilot shortage and is now tackling the air traffic controller shortage.
NBC Bay Area spoke with several people at San Francisco International Airport on Tuesday night.
“You just have to keep your seat belt on,” said San Jose resident Francis Ogbogu. “I've traveled a lot, I know I can handle this, and the pilots know what to do.”
There's some good news, experts say: Technology is being developed that can detect the clear-air turbulence that pilots currently can't see and that's been causing a lot of problems lately.
“We use technology, including artificial intelligence components, and other technologies, to look at weather systems, wind patterns and so on, and say, 'Here's some clear air turbulence. Go around that,'” Hartfeldt said.
“The fact is, air travel has never been safer,” Yakel said. “2023 was the safest year for air travel in aviation history.”
