Air-sea exchange is a major uncertainty source for many volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Aircraft-based eddy covariance can be used to quantify these fluxes over large regions but such applications have been limited. We used observations over the Atlantic to characterize VOC fluxes and elucidate the drivers of measurement error. Results show how sensor noise and turbulent variability interact to determine flux detectability, and define instrumental priorities for future use of this technique.