Turbulence is becoming more common, a trend that American Airlines Captain Dennis Tajer has experienced firsthand.
Tagel, a pilot for more than 30 years, said it’s crucial for passenger safety to wear seat belts at all times while seated, even if it’s not required by law.
It’s for their protection and the safety of those around them, Tagel told FOX Business.
A 2023 study by researchers at the University of Reading in the UK found that clear-air turbulence is increasing in regions around the world.
In the North Atlantic, one of the busiest flight routes, the total annual duration of severe turbulence increased by 55% between 1979 and 2020.
Moderate turbulence increased by 37 percent and mild turbulence increased by 17 percent, all of which are consistent with the effects of climate change, according to the study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
“After a decade of research suggesting that climate change will lead to future increases in clear-air turbulence, we now have evidence that this increase has already begun,” said atmospheric scientist Professor Paul Williams of the University of Reading, who co-authored the study.
Despite changes in turbulence over the years, Tagel doesn’t necessarily see a need to change current seat belt regulations set by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
FAA regulations require passengers to keep their seat belts properly fastened during taxiing, takeoff, and landing.
Although the regulation does not define the term “properly fastened,” passengers must follow flight attendants’ instructions regarding the use of safety belts.
The FAA told FOX Business that the rules also require flight crews to inform passengers when and under what circumstances they need to wear their seat belts.
According to the FAA, passengers must follow flight attendant instructions to fasten their seatbelts.
Airlines for America, a trade group that represents the major US passenger airlines, told Fox Business that all of its members “encourage passengers to wear their seat belts while seated for safety reasons, including during turbulence.”
When turbulence is expected or encountered, airlines will remind passengers to stay in their seats and fasten their seat belts, and the seat belt signs will usually be illuminated, according to industry groups.
However, there is no law requiring passengers to wear seat belts for the entire flight.
“First of all, that’s not possible because passengers have to go to the bathroom,” Tagel said, adding that having the seat belt signs on all the time would diminish their importance when severe turbulence actually occurs.
“What we’ve learned is that if you leave the seat belt signs on when they’re not really needed, and the air is smooth, it becomes a normal thing to ignore the seat belt signs,” Tajer said, adding, “If they’re just on all the time, it doesn’t feel special, so people get used to it and start ignoring them.”
But Tajel said people should always wear their seat belts when seated, no matter what the signs say.
“The answer is not to make a law that says you have to wear a seat belt every time you’re seated in a seat, but to continue education,” Tajer continued.
“Basically, the best technique for preventing injury is to wear a seat belt,” Tagel said, adding, “In our experience, severe turbulence is occurring more frequently and usually there is a warning, but sometimes there isn’t.”
The FAA said it was working to warn flight crews about turbulence by “using technology to prompt and communicate pilot reports of turbulence.”
Additionally, the FAA announced that, through a contract with the National Center for Atmospheric Science, it has developed a turbulence “nowcast” that provides rapidly updated 15-minute turbulence forecasts to help pilots and airline dispatchers make tactical decisions to avoid turbulence.
