Strong winds led to "insanely fast" flights overnight on Tuesday, knocking up to an hour off some some passengers' journeys.
As Storm Ciarán approaches Britain, jet streams in the Atlantic Ocean are picking up speed. Wind can greatly affect a plane's speed and the passengers' experience, and many airline passengers fear the worst when it comes to wind: turbulence.
However, wind can also accelerate a plane's speed, as proven by dozens of faster intercontinental flights from North America to Europe on Tuesday night.
"Gonna have some insanely fast intercontinental flights from North America to Europe tonight thanks to the strengthening upper jet, with peak winds near 185kts (212mph). Right now there are 66 flights achieving speeds over 620kts (713mph) across the ground," meteorologist Chris Jackson posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday night.
Jackson included a screenshot of current flights over the Atlantic Ocean on their way to Europe. He also included a picture of the jet streams.
AccuWeather senior meteorologist Adam Douty told Newsweek the heavy winds are a product of Storm Ciarán, which is forecast to hit Europe Wednesday night into Thursday.
"Essentially it's just a pocket of very strong jet stream winds associated with that storm system," Douty said.
Douty added that aircrafts fly around the jet stream level, meaning the high winds are bolstering the planes' speeds.
"The jet stream blows from west to east, so essentially these airplanes just have a massive tailwind that they're flying with," Douty said. "You go a lot faster if you're going with the wind as opposed to going against it."
Several travelers responded to Jackson's post, saying that they arrived at their destination ahead of schedule thanks in part to the wind speeds.
"Arrived 1:15 ahead of schedule," one traveler posted about his flight from Detroit to Paris.
"Already probably the fastest I have ever traveled. We easily cleared 750 mph. That alone is worth the trip," the passenger added.
Another social media user shared a screenshot of the speed of their family member's flight. The plane was traveling at 627 mph, 76 mph faster than its planned velocity of 551 mph.
One user questioned if the high winds were safe to travel in, which Jackson said they were.
"Perfectly fine. Jets love tailwinds," Jackson responded.
Commercial airlines typically cruise between 550 and 600 mph, although takeoff and landing speeds are much slower at 130 to 180 mph, according to a report by Aerotime Hub. The speed of sound occurs at 767 mph at sea level.
Strong crosswinds can affect a plane's takeoff and landing if they exceed 35 mph. Once in the air, planes can withstand much stronger winds depending on the their direction.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Anna Skinner is a Newsweek senior reporter based in Indianapolis. Her focus is reporting on the climate, environment and weather ... Read more
