Airlines Cut Carbon Emissions By Scheduling Fewer Flights
Posted on: Tuesday, 31 March 2009, 11:40 CDT
Airline executives said on Tuesday they plan to cut the number of flights they operate in line with a drop in both cargo and passenger demand, effectively reducing their carbon emissions by nearly 8 percent this year, Reuters reported.
The world financial crisis has taken the heat off the airline industry, which was once seen as a driving force behind global warming.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said about 6 percent of the forecast carbon cut will come as a result of carriers flying fewer planes in 2009, and a further 1.8 percent reflects steps to improve energy efficiency.
Many leading carriers have run successful tests with biofuels made from plants, raising the possibility that algae and other crops could be certified to power flights as early as next year, according to IATA Director-General Giovanni Bisignani.
These bio-jet fuels made from algae, the non-food crop jatropha, and camelina, a type of flax, have shown positive results with Continental Airlines, Japan Airlines, Air New Zealand and Virgin.
Bisignani told an aviation conference in Geneva, where his industry group is based, that certification by 2010 or 2011 is a real possibility, and the potential benefits are “enormous”.
"A biofuel industry could be a big generator of employment and wealth for the developing world," he added.
Airlines around the world have suffered from the economic crisis, relying on high fixed costs and executive-class passengers and business cargo to stay afloat.
The IATA, which estimates the airline industry will lose $4.7 billion this year, said some U.S. airlines have reduced their flights in response to plummeting demand for travel and freight, and carriers in Asia and Europe are likely to make similar scheduling cuts to allay their operating costs.
The association said in its latest financial outlook: "Further and larger cuts are planned but it remains difficult to do this quickly enough to keep up with the slump in demand."
Angela Gittens, director-general of Airports Council International, said airports are also trying to improve efficiency by revamping runway and taxiway designs, improving flight scheduling, and reducing airfield congestion that causes wasteful fuel burning.
Gittens told the aviation and environment summit, held near the Geneva airport, that such steps have been undertaken recently in Athens, Kuala Lumpur, Montreal, San Francisco and Zurich.
Many European airports are shifting to a "continuous descent approach," or CDA, that makes for a smoother descent and cuts carbon emissions by 353 pounds to 1,036 pounds per flight.
Alexander ter Kuile of the Civil Air Navigation Services Organization said CDA offers significant fuel savings, which have both an environmental and financial benefit to airlines.
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Source: redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports
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