A flight from Turkish Airline flew from Panama City to Istanbul and took an unusual flight path which added 800 miles to the journey. The re-route taken by the plane was a considerable divergence from the usual trajectory across the Atlantic and through the Mediterranean. However, the excess windspeed by the jet stream helped the flight 800 touch down on time.
From the ‘? Jet Stream Weeeee!’ files: yesterday’s TK800 took a northerly route back to Istanbul from Panama City.
The shortest route, which the flight usually follows, is the red dashed line. pic.twitter.com/X3CLLYMSWM
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) October 22, 2018
The journey of the Turkish Airline flight was noted on Flight Radar website. The plane flew over the eastern seaboard of the US before skirting the Arctic Circle’s edge, then descending into Greece and finally into the Turkish airspace. In commercial airline economics, flying an extra 800 miles is good as long as there is enough wind. Airlines make good use of the Jet Stream. It is a current of air which flows from east to west and can help to fly a plane at higher speeds without burning excess fuel.
Earlier this year, 787s flying from London to New York, made the trip in only a few hours. Flight 800 is not different from this either. The plane crossed its original speed of 540 mph when it hit a current over the Labrador Sea which allowed it to reach a peak speed of 700 mph. The tailwind carried the plane through Greenland and Scandinavian airspace and allowed the Airbus to reach the destination with only 11 minutes of delay despite traveling on a relatively long route. The Airbus logged 7553 miles in the same time which it usually takes to travel 6739 miles.
Pretty cool, isn’t it?
