The decision to turn food in the air fryer depends on what you are cooking, whether you are using an air fryer basket or tray, how thick and how fragile the food is. Turning the food over in the air fryer helps promote even cooking on all sides of the food. However, if cooking a very thin and fragile tilapia fillet, you may opt to not turn it, so it does not apart. If the fish fillet is thicker, we like to turn it midway during the cooking process.