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Running Head: AVIATION INDUSTRY

Aviation Industry

Abdulaziz Ali Moafa

20809875

Jazan University
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AVIATION INDUSTRY
Abstract

Around 15,000 planes fly to nearly 10,000 airports, covering a total distance

of 15 million kilometers. More than 2.2 billion passengers flew on the world's airlines

for leisure and business travel, and more than a third of the world's manufactured

exports were transported by air. Furthermore, the aviation industry employs 32

million people worldwide and accounts for nearly 8% of global GDP (gross domestic

product.). It goes without saying that air travel has a major economic effect. The

aviation sector, on the other hand, is not immune to the effects of climate change.

When the number of people flying increases, so does the effect of CO2 emissions.

The aviation industry is already buzzing with discussions about aviation pollution.

There is a push for airline emissions to be included in climate change agreements

(Fogarty, 2009). This study examines the problems that the aviation industry faces

and what it is doing to reduce its environmental impact. According to the findings, the

aviation industry must look beyond its conventional business model and adopt a

model that enables them to work in a modern global business climate that prioritizes

environmental alignment with business goals. In the meantime, the aviation industry

is making progress on topics such as renewable fuels, more reliable engine

technology, improved traffic control, and policy frameworks (such as emissions

trading and carbon offsets). Ways to mitigate air travel's potential effects on climate

change are now being discussed, and they "generally fall into two spheres:

technological growth, and policy mechanisms" (GLOBE-Net, 2007). The study

strongly suggests that governments be involved in setting ground rules to assist the

global aviation industry in mitigating climate change risks.

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Aviation Industry

Since aviation is the quickest mode of transportation, it is increasingly being

used as a chosen mode of transportation, generating significant revenue for the

economy. Over the last 30 years, the aviation industry has seen an evolution of

information convergence, increased automation, and new ways of managing

information, resulting in the pilot's role shifting. Early cockpit designs featured

several non-integrated sensors, direct cable controls, and low-level machine control

(Wiener, 1989). The entire aviation industry, including airports, is governed by safety

and security regulations, making it one of the most heavily controlled industries in the

world. (Hans-Arthur Vogel, 2019), so aviation industry has more opportunities to

generate more revenues and jobs for the region. Aviation brings together people like

families, friends and colleagues of business. It also establishes a platform for people

to share ideas. It has created travel so short and adaptable that voyagers can reach to

their objective inside 24 hours. And it's turned our big planet into alittle world filled

with wonderful opportunities. Since various government agencies and countries have

different competencies, collaboration is needed to ensure that the wrong people or

goods do not "fall between the cracks. Improvement is needed to raise security

standards without causing more burdens for airports, operators, passengers, and

traders, particularly as air passenger and freight growth is expected” (Menzel and

Hesterman , 2018). However, there are additional challenges in the aviation industry,

.such as safety, comfort, environmental sustainability, and financial viability

Literature Review
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Growth of Aviation

Since 1783, the aviation industry has come a long way, with more passenger flights

than ever before. (GLOBE-Net, 2007) reports that "Air travel is additionally on the

increase , with GHG emissions from international aviation jumping by almost 70%

between 1990 and 2002. Air travel in China is growing at a rate of about 12% per

year, and worldwide passenger air travel is growing at a rate of 5% per year, faster

than any other mode of transportation. Air freight has also been steadily increasing,

though it still accounts for a small percentage of overall air traffic." The airline

industry's commercial sector is extremely competitive. Around 15,000 planes fly to

nearly 10,000 airports, covering a total distance of 15 million kilometers. For holiday

and business travel, more than 2.2 billion passengers traveled on the world's airlines,

and air transport carried more than a third of the value of the world's manufactured

exports (Penner et.al., 2001). Furthermore, the aviation sector employs 32 million

people worldwide and accounts for approximately 8% of (global GDP) world gross

domestic product (IATA, 2008). It goes without saying that air travel has a major

economic effect. Getting from one location to another, like consuming more products,

necessitates a lot of resources. Transportation absorbs about 20% of global energy,

with fossil fuels accounting for 80% of that. He claims that road transport is

responsible for 80% of transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions. Sea transport

accounts for 7% of the total, while rail accounts for 0.5 percent. Air transportation is

the second-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for 13% of total

emissions (Kirby, 2008).

Environmental impact of Flight. Climate change, stratospheric ozone

depletion (leading to increased surface UV radiation), regional emissions, and local

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pollution are the major environmental issues associated with aircraft. During flight,

aircraft engines emit carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, water vapor,

hydrocarbons, and dust, the latter of which are mostly sulphate and soot from Sulphur

oxides. These emissions have a number of effects on the chemical composition of the

atmosphere, both directly and indirectly (RCEP, 2002). Although plants and the ocean

surface consume most of the CO2, a substantial amount is emitted into the

atmosphere, where it and other gases form a kind of lid around the globe, creating the

greenhouse effect. As a result, heat that would otherwise escape into space is reflected

back to Earth, increasing global temperatures (Lehrer, 2001). Aircraft emissions of

nitrogen oxides (NOx) and water vapor increase the production of cirrus clouds and

produce contrails that can be seen from the ground. The combination of " contrails

and cirrus clouds warms the Earth's atmosphere, amplifying the effect of aviation on

global warming. NOx and water vapor together account for nearly two-thirds of

aviation's effects on the environment estimated that the radiative forcing resulting

from all aircraft greenhouse gas emissions is 2 to 4 times greater than that resulting

from CO2 emissions alone. As a result, any plan to minimize aircraft emissions must

include other gases in addition to CO2" (GreenSkies, 2001). Airlines are aiming to cut

CO2 emissions by another 25% between 2006 and 2020 by investing heavily in fleet

renewal (IATA, 2007).

Engine Technology, Aerodynamic Body and Weight. The aircraft we

fly today are estimated to be 70% more powerful than those we flew ten years ago.

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), By 2020, the new

fleet would have increased its utilization by 25%. (GLOBE-Net, 2007).

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Aerodynamics, engine architecture, and weight reduction are the key fields where

improvements can be made to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. While efforts to

substitute fossil, fuels are being made with some success, fossil fuels are unlikely to

be replaced in the immediate future. Aside from engine efficiency, the aviation

industry faces the challenge of finding an alternative fuel. (GLOBE-Net, 2007)

According to the survey, engine technology advancements have accounted for the

majority of efficiency gains over previous aircraft. Engine changes, including car

improvements, would reduce NOx, water vapor, and other air contaminants while

increasing fuel efficiency (and thereby lowering CO2 emissions). High pressure ratios

are used in some engine technology advancements to increase performance, but this

exacerbates the NOx issue. High pressure ratios will likely be the direction taken by

aircraft manufacturers if new NOx control strategies are introduced to stay within

regulatory enforcement limits. Other innovations, such as the use of winglets, fuselage

airflow control systems, and weight reductions, are also being investigated by aircraft

manufacturers. These could " According to the IPCC, we should cut our fuel intake by

another 7%, but some of these ideas aren't feasible " (GLOBE-Net, 2007). New

aircraft configurations (such as a blended wing body) can achieve significant

efficiency gains in the long run.

Alternate Energy Solutions. Zero-emission aircraft are also a long way off.

The technologies that could make this possible are still in the research and evaluation

stages. The aviation industry, like the automotive industry, is looking into second-

generation biofuels, solar power, and fuel cells. The more fuel an aircraft burns, the

more pollutants it emits into the atmosphere, resulting in a larger environmental

impact. With the assistance of Boeing and Airbus (the world's two largest aircraft

manufacturers), the aviation industry has come a long way. Today's planes are
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smaller, faster, and use less fuel. Boeing has a long history of incorporating

technological advances into environmental performance enhancements. Over the last

40 years, CO2 emissions from airplanes have decreased by roughly 70%, whereas

noise levels have decreased by roughly 90%. The noise footprint of the new 787

Dreamliner is 60% lower than any similar aircraft (Boeing, 1998-2007).

The International Air Transportation Association (IATA) believes that

any alternative fuel should be thoroughly tested for both efficiency and environmental

impact before being released into the market. According to IATA report, the

industry's conservative nature would encourage the use of alternative fuels that were

previously mixed with traditional jet fuel. Alternative fuel systems derived from

biomass sources have the ability to reduce carbon emissions and other emissions,

according to (IATA, 2008). New technology and greater economic integration of

renewable fuels, as well as government subsidies, would hasten the consumer

adoption of these fuels (IATA, 2008a). (Bew, 2009) reports that "the push being

developed of biofuels proceeds with a new $25 million agreement granted by the

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to SAIC. The firm has been accused of

driving a group in the creation of an incorporated technique for producing JP-8 from

green growth at an objective expense of $3 per gallon." The program's two phases will

culminate in the design and operation of a pre-pilot scale manufacturing facility.

However, another initiative involving Boeing and aims to produce hundreds of

millions of gallons of biofuel each year by 2012 (Pew, 2009). Even if biofuels could

be manufactured sustainably, (Gazzard,2009) is not persuaded that aviation will be

the best end-user. The aviation industry has taken a growing interest in algae as a

potential source of aviation fuel, but it remains skeptical that any cost-effective algae-

derived aviation fuel could be generated in a realistic timeframe that would enable
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such fuels to contribute significantly to current climate change policies. Regardless of

skepticism, as market awareness of global warming grows, more airlines are testing

alternative fuel sources.

Better Traffic Management. Improved air traffic control may be one factor

contributing to increased aircraft performance. According to (IATA, 2007), global air

traffic control is inefficient by 12%, which could be resolved in part by three "mega-

projects": a Single Sky for Europe, an effective air traffic system for China's Pearl

River Delta, and a next-generation air traffic system for the United States. However,

much to the dismay of IATA and its leadership, no progress has been made on these

initiatives. Scientists and aviation specialists from around the world are looking for

better air traffic control, lower flight rates, and other efficiencies in order to find

places where pollution can be reduced. In the case of non-explosive threat detection,

recent technological advancements have enabled increased automation and

productivity by combining electronics screening research with machine learning for

improved accuracy (Vogel. B, 2018).

Policy Mechanisms. Air France/KLM, British Airways, Cathay Pacific,

Virgin Atlantic, and airport operator BAA, along with four other major airlines and an

airport authority, called for aviation emissions to be included in a larger climate

agreement in February 2009. This could be viewed as an attempt to deflect

environmental criticism and, more likely, to achieve a negotiated compromise rather

than one imposed on them. Even with only 2% of global pollution coming from

airlines, the pressure of the aviation industry has been mounting to participate in

emission reduction initiatives (Fogarty, 2009). This call served as a warm-up for the

2009 Copenhagen Climate Summit, where countries are expected to reach an

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agreement on a climate deal to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which is set to expire in

2012. Global air travel is as of now prohibited from the Kyoto Protocol's carbon

limits. Airlines are also exempt from paying fuel taxes. Legislators are understandably

wary of affecting aviation since it is a major source of revenue for governments. In

the US, for example, the average tax on a $200 ticket is 26%, amounting to about

$15bn a year. In addition, the airline industry pays for its own facilities, which costs

about $42 billion a year. According to a report commissioned by the airline industry

(Ernst & Young, 2007), the device would cost airlines more than 40 billion Euros

between 2011 and 2022. In both developed and developing countries, the aviation

industry transports 2.2 billion passengers each year and promotes trade and tourism.

(Penner & colleagues, 2001).

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Conclusion

Governments and international organizations have been considering policy

options to establish incentives or place conditions on aircraft operators and

manufacturers to minimize emissions in recent years. The European Union is at the

forefront of this campaign, proposing that aircraft be protected by the region's

Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). Both domestic flights in the EU will be covered in

2011, followed by international flights in 2012. The European Union aspires to be a

role model for other countries (GLOBE-Net, 2007). Despite the fact that airline fuel

efficiency and CO2 emissions have increased over the last decade (5 percent from

2003 to 2005) , (Balch, 2009). The industry's greenhouse gas emissions could reach

5% by 2050. Evidence that firms have become environmentally conscious either

'voluntary' or because market forces have encouraged them, is in fact rather thin. The

vast majority of new environmental practices have been established expressly as a

result of market policy or political pressure from environmentalists (Jacobs, 1993).

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