Is the growth of air travel sustainable?

Garry Cullen says air travel remains crucial to global growth and can become much more friendly to the environment.



AVIATION FACES the twin challenges of globalisation, which drives growth in demand for air travel, and climate change, which is raising acute concerns about that growth.

Future sustainability requires investment stability, employment and the protection of our environment. Aviation has a key role to play in development through its role as part of the world communication system. The aviation industry is an integral and vital part of the today's society. More than 1,600 million passengers every year are carried by airlines, which also transport 40 per cent of the world's exports. The air transport industry generates a total of 29 million jobs globally.

Global annual traffic growth is forecast to be 4.8 per cent over the next 10 years. The Asia-Pacific region will account for 56 per cent of new aircraft purchased over the next 10 years.

This forecasted growth has raised concerns that the growth of aviation may overtake the environmental improvements that are required for a sustainable future. Aviation is gaining a reputation as the major culprit for environmentalists, yet the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), set up by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), states that aviation is only 2 per cent of global CO2 emissions, whereas road traffic accounted for 16 per cent, and energy creation was 53 per cent.

Climate change is real and all forms of transport, including aviation, are part of a growing problem. But any perception that aviation is almost wholly responsible is an assumption that is intellectually bankrupt, as the scientific data tells an entirely different story. The Stern review, recently commissioned by the UK government, showed that aviation accounts for only 1.6 per cent of global greenhouse gases, and according to the EU Environment Commissioner, aircraft emissions are just 3 per cent of EU CO2 emissions. Stern also made it clear that there is no contradiction between tackling climate change and increasing growth.

The aviation industry takes its responsibilities towards the environment seriously and is working to minimise its impact as much as possible while continuing to deliver services to millions of people.

Air travel will continue to be sustainable in terms of growth and will lessen C02 emissions by reducing fuel consumption, adapting aircraft size for the route and by greater efficiency in air-traffic management.

Fuel costs represent a significant proportion of an airline's operating costs. The current increase in fuel prices is accelerating the replacement of older equipment with more eco-efficient aircraft. Fuel efficiency of aircraft has improved 20 per cent in the last decade. For instance, Aer Arann has commenced its fleet-replacement programme with new ATR 72-500 turboprops. These have very low fuel consumption: on a typical 370km sector, the fuel consumption per passenger of an Aer Arann plane is up to 15 per cent lower than that of a typical car, and 70 per cent lower than a jet on the same route. Adapting aircraft size for a particular route is fundamental to efficient fleet management. Airlines must fly the most fuel-efficient aircraft type for the sector. The majority of routes from Ireland are short haul, ie, 500-600kms. One size does not fit all routes, as there are different levels of demand on a given route, and an airline is most environmentally efficient when it can respond to these changing demands. New regional aircraft such as turboprops operate more efficiently than jet aircraft on short-haul routes. They emit about 20 per cent less CO2 per passenger carried than newer jets and up to three times less CO2 than older ones. Regional aircraft operate at relatively low altitude (15,000-17,000ft), compared to jets (30,000ft or more), leaving the ozone layer unaffected from nitrous oxides. In addition, regional aircraft use much less fuel than a jet on the same route. A typical Aer Arann flight from Cork to Dublin burns approx 545kgs in an ATR72-500, whereas a typical Boeing 737 jet would burn approx 1,350kgs Cork-Dublin.

Congestion remains air transport's biggest long-term challenge. It causes delays and unreliability for passengers, reduced efficiency for airline and airport operators, and is a massive waste of energy and materials. Congestion means that aircraft are required to operate at lower and inefficient cruising levels. The extra fuel required can mean an aircraft burns between 20 and 30 per cent additional fuel on each trip.

Aer Arann, as a member of the European Regional Airlines Association, is committed to pursuing every effort to minimise aviation's environmental impact through research, technological progress and operational measures. Aer Arann and the ERA support an openemissions trading scheme, solely for CO2 emissions, provided such a scheme has been demonstrated to be beneficial to the environment and without any severe detrimental consequences. Garry Cullen is managing director of Aer Arann
Your Vote
Should Queen Elizabeth visit Ireland?
Advertisement
Advertisement