Abstract This review examines the critical role of meteorological data in optimising flight trajectories and enhancing operational efficiency in aviation. Weather conditions directly influence fuel consumption, delays and safety, making their integration into flight planning increasingly vital. Understanding these dynamics becomes essential for risk mitigation as climate change drives more frequent and severe weather events. Synthesising insights from 57 studies published between 2001 and 2024, this article highlights key variables – such as wind, temperature and convective weather – significantly impacting flight operations. A framework is proposed to improve air traffic management’s safety, efficiency and cost-effectiveness. The findings emphasise the need for systematically incorporating meteorological inputs into trajectory optimisation models, such as wind shear, convective storms and temperature gradients. This integration improves operational predictability and safety while advancing sustainability goals by reducing fuel consumption and CO 2 emissions – an increasingly important priority amid rising climate variability and global air traffic demand.
AKDOĞAN et al. (Wed,) studied this question.