How low cost airlines have an effect:
Low cost airlines have made air travel accessible to the masses. Yet at the same time the operations of these airlines have a major impact on the environment. Low cost airlines operate on a business model where profits are made from increasing the volume of passengers who fly. This means an increase in the frequency of flights as compared to any other average airline. This translates into an increase in carbon emissions being generated.
The effect of low cost airlines on CO2 emissions:
With the initial inception of low cost airlines, the amount of CO2 emissions doubled between 1990 and 2000. Aviation remains one of the most polluting forms of transportation as compared to other forms. As aviation emissions occur at a high altitude the emissions are four times as damaging as those that occur at ground level. A single trans-Atlantic flight consumes as much as 60,000 liters of fuel adding 140 tones of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.
The effect of low cost airlines on fuel consumption:
According to the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, over 85000 flights take off every day consuming 130 million tones of fuel every year. The amount of harmful emissions that aviation gives out often cancels out the positive energy efficiency savings of households and companies in other sectors.
Technological difficulties:
The dilemma that low cost airlines face is no current technological developments can reduce the airlines emissions drastically. It is true that the airplanes manufactured today are more environment friendly than those manufactured in the 1960s. The only improvements that airline companies can hope for is gradual engine improvements and fuel efficiency. Virgin Airways is trying to develop a bio-fuel to reduce the dependency on fossil fuels that release carbon.
Managing air traffic effectively can also help in reducing the amount of carbon emissions. This is achieved by reducing the amount of time an airline will have to queue up to take off or land.
Solutions to the impact of low cost airlines:
One solution to this is to opt for carbon offsetting techniques. This allows travelers to voluntarily pay for the amount of carbon emissions that result in their travels. A monetary donation is made which is then invested in projects such as re-planting which reduces the impact of CO2 emissions. Another option is to have government increase air passenger duty and use the revenue generated to invest in green projects that can counter the carbon emissions. By 2011 all flights that operate within Europe will have to pay for exceeding permitted levels of emission under the Emissions Trading Scheme.
In order to make air travel more environmentally friendly a number of airports have adopted alternate sources of energy. This ranges from solar power to other green technologies being implemented to power terminuses.
...Read more
Close
