The aviation industry is doing a great deal to limit its environmental impact
Aviation has come a long way since December 17, 1903 when two brothers, Orville and Wilbur Wright, undertook the first powered, controlled flight which lasted all of 37 metres. . Today, as people regularly fly distances exceeding 15 million metres, with over two billion people travelling safely around the world every year and some 23,000 aircraft in commercial service, the aviation industry provides a lifeline to communities, a connector of business and a conduit to the world’s great experiences.
From the moment aircraft are designed, engineers are working out how to make them more efficient. Unlike ground vehicles, which don’t need to be optimised for efficiency to the same extent as aircraft because they can refuel often, long-distance aircraft must carry all their fuel with them. Fuel is expensive, heavy and takes up a great deal of storage room. Its weight can limit the range of an aircraft and it needs to be stored in tanks which affect the wing size and the payload able to be carried. At the same time, the aviation industry is doing all it can to limit its environmental impact.
New technologies on the horizon have the potential to significantly decrease greenhouse gas emissions from aviation, and solutions that are being implemented today also promise other savings. Even small savings here and there offer significant benefits in total.
Being able to operate efficiently is critical to the future of the aviation industry, not just for environmental reasons but also for financial ones, especially since fuel is one of the industry’s most costly expenses.
Aircraft operations are already over 20% more efficient than 10 years ago, but the industry is aware that much more needs to be done.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner (left) uses composite in its construction, while the Airbus A380 (right) makes extensive use of lightweight aluminium. Both help achieve significant weight reduction over previous airframe construction methods, ultimately improving fuel consumption and reducing emissions.
Consequently, the quest for further efficiency continues on a number of fronts, including:
• Technological innovation improves the efficiency of aircraft to reduce the level of emissions per passenger or over the distance flown.
• Operational efficiency makes each flight as efficient as possible, for instance by reducing the weight on board, employing alternative power units where possible and using new landing procedures.
• Infrastructure improvements in air traffic management systems reduce the amount of fuel wasted through inefficient routing and flight patterns. It is a fact of modern aviation that the route from A to B is not always as direct as it could be, so there is scope for improvement.
• Economic measures provide incentives for the industry to reduce emissions through buying more efficient aircraft, funding research and development, and emissions trading.
Find out more about the aviation industry's track record with technology »