Emirates has observed rise in turbulence incidents: Clark

Emirates has observed an increase in the amount of turbulence on its flights, prompting the industry to ‘up its game’, according to airline president Tim Clark. Speaking after a high-profile incident on a Singapore Airlines flight on 21 May, Clark said at the IATA AGM on 2 June that Emirates had already noticed a rise in the number of “clear air turbulence” incidents. “Well before that, there was evidence that we were beginning to see, not a geographical trend of where these things were happening, but a ticking up of the amount of turbulence,” he says. “Some people say it’s climate change, some people say you’ve got many flights than you used to have, but the fact is the incidence was going up.” As a result, the Singapore Airlines incident was “coincidental” with the industry “realising something is going on”, he says. “We’ve had our own fair share of issues,” Clark explains. “Not as bad as unfortunately Singapore Airlines had, but let’s be quite honest… if you haven’t got people strapped in, some of the clear air turbulence interjections, oscillations in altitude, it’s a real risk. The whole industry is now upping the game in regarding to making sure passengers are strapped in.”<br/>