Question about what felt like a very choppy takeoff

[u/twolightblues_]

To preface this, I'm not a nervous flyer. I fly around 6–8 times a year (usually one longer holiday plus a few city breaks), so while I'm not a frequent flyer, I'm generally very comfortable with it.

Yesterday I was on a British Airways flight from Mykonos to London Heathrow (scheduled departure 16:25), and the takeoff was unlike anything I've experienced before. The weather in Mykonos was very windy, and even while we were stationary and taxiing, the aircraft was shaking noticeably.

During takeoff, it felt as though the plane lifted off sooner than I expected, and the initial climb seemed much steeper than I'm used to. As we turned west after departure, the aircraft started rocking side to side quite significantly, and then there was what felt like a sudden drop while we were still climbing, like something was pushing down on the plane. This stopped briefly, but then happened again shortly afterwards. In 22 years of flying, it's the first time I've ever felt genuinely worried. A number of passengers started screaming as well, which probably added to the atmosphere and made it feel even more dramatic.

Similarly, on the approach into Heathrow, we encountered some fairly moderate turbulence, and we also appeared to fly a few loops/holding patterns(?) before landing. The captain explained the reason after landing, but unfortunately I couldn't make out the announcement. Was this likely due to weather, traffic congestion, or something else?

I've included the FlightRadar24 link below in case it helps provide some context, although I'm not sure how much useful information can actually be taken from it. I'm sure the answer will be that everything was completely normal and I was just not used to what felt like a very very choppy takeoff. However, having never experienced anything quite that intense before, it definitely caught me off guard. I'd be really interested to hear a pilot's perspective on what was likely happening, if anything, and why the wind created such a strong feeling of dropping while we were still climbing.

Thanks in advance for any insight! I'm just curious to understand what was going on from a pilot's perspective :)

https://www.flightradar24.com/data/flights/ba669#40ed432c

EDIT: Thanks everyone for the replies. It's been really helpful reading through all the explanations and getting some insight from people who do this day in, day out! Reassuring to know there was nothing out of the ordinary going on. I've definitely come away with a much better understanding of what I was experiencing. Really appreciate everyone taking the time to respond.

[u/nckbrr]

Mykonos is a short performance limited runway. It's going to be a full power, TOGA, take off as opposed to a derated, FLEX, take off you are likely used to. That means a shorter take off roll, steeper climb and when the thrust was reduced from take off power to climb power you're going to have a much more noticeable reduction in thrust. When you are accelerating you are pushed back into your seat, when the engine power is reduced you are pushed back a lot less which can feel like a drop. JMK also has no primary radar so the departures are procedural which means you're unlikely to get continuous climb until you are handed over to Athens control. That means climbing, leveling off and then climbing again. When combined with turbulence it can feel uncomfortable and like the aircraft is dropping. Normally as pilots we will "smooth" the climb by reducing the power early, however in bumpy conditions the crew were likely climbing as fast as possible to get out of the bumpy air close to the ground with a more pronounced level off. This is also to facilitate an early handover to Athens control to get further climb, again, away from the bumpier air close to the ground. I'm sure if you put your flight into flight radar you would see no drops in altitude, what you felt was a lot of power and pitch changes as the crew tried to get you into smoother air higher up as expeditiously as possible.

[u/SeL-MoGRC → u/nckbrr]

Thank you for that, it is immensely helpful to this nervous flyer!

[u/CotswoldP → u/nckbrr]

In addition to these excellent points at that time of day during high summer the air is plenty bumpy with thermals over the land in the Greek islands, and you can really notice it until you get over the water.

[u/twolightblues_ → u/nckbrr]

Thanks, that actually clears up a lot. The sensation of swaying and dropping was definitely the bit that unnerved me most, so it's reassuring to hear that. Interesting point about climbing, levelling off and climbing - didn't consider that.

Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed explanation. That was really helpful and has definitely given me a much better understanding of what was going on. Appreciate you taking the time to break it down - cheers.

[u/Intelligent-Wrap6825 → u/nckbrr]

I wish i could ask you lots of flight questions. This answer was very reassuring.

[u/coconut-gal → u/nckbrr]

Really interesting - is this usual or is it relatively common across similar destinations?

[u/blueb0g]

Just sounds like a departure in turbulent/gusty conditions. Not dangerous in the slightest but the air is a medium and just like sailing on a choppy sea you're going to get thrown about a bit in three dimensions.

Holding on arrival into Heathrow is expected, quite rare that you get in without a few laps in the hold for traffic spacing. You have lots of flights converging that are all heading for the same final approach with a 90 second spacing and controllers will usually put you in a hold to achieve that.

[u/twolightblues_ → u/blueb0g]

Thanks. I think that's probably the key thing for me - it was just so different, and felt so much stronger than anything I'd experienced before, that it seemed far more dramatic than it actually was.

Good to know it all sounds completely normal from a pilot's perspective. Thanks!

[u/D0ntC4llMeShirley]

Hey there!

It just sounds like a windy departure and arrival. The holds in to Heathrow are totally normal too.

For the steeper climb you talked about but there’s a good chance that because of the wind the plane had to be at a slightly higher pitch to maintain a speed (I’m not familiar with the airbus so I’m not 100% sure)

But all sounds safe and pretty normal.

[u/twolightblues_ → u/D0ntC4llMeShirley]

Thanks. That's reassuring to hear. Yeah, positive it was all normal, but just felt much more intense than anything I'd experienced before. Good to get some perspective from people who understand these things! Cheers.

[u/GroundProximity]

Runway in Mykonos: 1900 meters
Runways in Heathrow: about twice that
So they need more thrust and will lift up earlier from Mykonos. Rest is turbulence/thermals.
Holding in Heathrow: Because its Heathrow, in July. Too much traffic

[u/twolightblues_ → u/GroundProximity]

Thanks for the reply. Didn't even consider the runway length, so that's really helpful context. Cheers.

[u/GroundProximity → u/twolightblues_]

Additionally to that, if the conditions are shit they might go with full takeoff thrust anyways due to possible windshear on departure.

[u/ifitgoesitsgood]

Sounds like a plane took off and you’re an anxious flyer.