Airport Management and the Environmental Impacts of Aviation

A brief analysis of the environmental impact of aviation and what companies are doing about it.

As the aviation industry is constantly evolving, regulations must adapt to meet the constantly changing industry. Aviation fuel consumption and its effect on the environment have been a rising issue for years.

Carbon dioxide is the largest piece of aircraft emissions and accounts for around seventy percent of aircraft exhaust. Like other fossil fuel combustions, these gasses mix in the atmosphere and create a warming effect. Due to the potency of this gas, it remains in the atmosphere for extended periods of time and is the strongest greenhouse gas. For just thirty percent of carbon dioxide to be removed from the atmosphere naturally, it can take upwards of thirty years. It may take up to one hundred years for around fifty percent of the gas to naturally disappear. The remaining twenty percent of this gas can linger in the atmosphere for up to one thousand years. Water vapor is also a key component of aircraft exhaust, making up about thirty percent of the composition (ATAG, 2022).

Water vapor in the contrails freezes immediately when an aircraft is in flight. These small ice particles expand and trap infrared rays, which then in turn results in a warming effect that has a worse impact than carbon monoxide. Lastly, other remaining components of the aircraft emissions include other nitrous gasses, particles, and the contributing general air quality. All of these gasses contribute by creating a warming effect which ultimately has an influence on the atmosphere and overall climate (Overton, 2022).

This should be a large concern for airport managers because if the longevity of the atmosphere is not protected, then eventually, the atmosphere will reach a point of no return and be un-flyable for aircraft due to the damage that is being caused now. Larger companies such as United, American Airlines, etc. have committed to slowly integrating sustainable fuels, and some have partnered with labs and aerospace companies to design electric and hydrogen-powered aircraft. Managers of airports should take this issue seriously in order to protect the environment in which this industry operates: the atmosphere.

References

ATAG. (2022). Aviation's impact on the environment. Air Transport Action Group. https://aviationbenefits.org/environmental-efficiency/aviations-impact-on-the-environment/

Overton, J. (2022). Issue brief: The growth in greenhouse gas emissions from Commercial Aviation (2019, revised 2022). EESI. https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-the-growth-in-greenhouse-gas-emissions-from-commercial-aviation