Better flight management could cut emissions by up to 95%

01.02.10

The quickest way to cut aviation emissions would be to imrpove flight management rather than back new technology, according to a new Oxford University study. Better air traffic control and other measures determining how, when and where planes fly could cut aviation emissions by up to 95%, it says. These would include more direct flight paths to airports and less time waiting to land.

Dr Chris Carey, aviation expert at Smith School of Enterprise & Environment, says flight management changes are the ‘low-hanging fruit’ compared to technology improvements and biofuels, adding ‘they are measures that Governments could make a condition of using their airspace,' and so could be implemented quickly.

Better air traffic control systems could help aircraft reduce the time spent with their engines running while still on the ground. At the same time, better flight control systems should help them spend less time in the air.

He said: ‘The inaccuracy of current air traffic control systems mean planes are given a wide berth to avoid collisions. If these were improved, landing and take-offs would be quicker, stacking reduced and planes could fly closer together by taking advantage of prevailing winds, just as Concorde did.’ Such improvements would be cheap to introduce, and ‘should be implemented as soon as possible if we are serious about cutting emissions,’ he said.

In contrast, technological advances, such as better engines or lighter planes, take a long time before they have an impact, because aircraft have lifetimes of 30 years or more. In the long run, innovations that help reduce drag will reduce emissions, as might a shift away from fossil fuels to biofuels made from algae, ‘but none of those measures can be introduced quickly and most new technology is not retrofitable. These are all long-term innovations that we won't see for at least 30 years,’ he said.

Add to: del.icio.us | Digg it | Newsvine | NowPublic | Reddit

To compare prices and book heathrow airport hotel or heathrow airport car park at the lowest price click on these links to heathrow parking and heathrow hotels price comparison pages

© TMC Limited. All rights reserved.