Qatar Airways today said that it will be the first Middle Eastern airline to join the IATA Turbulence Aware platform and install the programme in its whole fleet of aircrafts.
Till date, the airlines has equipped its 120 aircrafts with the Turbulence Aware platform.
IATA’s Turbulence Aware helps airlines mitigate the impact of turbulence by pooling and sharing anonymized turbulence data from multiple participating airlines and thousands of daily flights.
The real-time, accurate information enables pilots and dispatchers to choose optimal flight paths, avoiding turbulence and flying at optimum levels to maximize fuel efficiency and thereby reduce CO2 emissions, the airline said in a release.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Akbar Al Baker, said: "We continue to innovate as one of the world’s leading airlines by adopting this new solution that combines technology and big data for more efficient flight planning not only to ensure a smooth journey, but also to reduce fuel burn, in turn lowering our carbon emissions."
"To make flying safer and more sustainable, the airline industry must leverage such digital innovations, and work together to share turbulence data for more precise forecasting," he added.
IATA’s Director General, Willie Walsh, said, "This move will significantly increase the coverage area for this important safety and operational initiative, providing real-time turbulence information not only to Qatar Airways aircrew, but to all the other participating airlines."