Air travel over the past few years has become increasingly complicated, time consuming and a major hassle, especially for British nationals entering the Schengen Area thanks to Brexit and all the new border force controls and entry and exit visas not to mention the 90-day rule. And now, if scientists from Cambridge University are going to be listened to, flying to the liked of Mallorca, could take even longer.
The extensive report, titled Five Years to Chart a New Future for Aviation, highlights three “bold efficiency measures” to reduce fuel burn in aviation. They are: Accelerated Replacement: Increasing aircraft production to halve the fleet age.
Fly Slower: Reducing flight speed by around 15%, increasing transatlantic flight times by about 50 minutes.
Match Range:Ensuring more aircraft operate close to their design range by introducing new aircraft types and optimising purchasing and operating practices.
The report explains that reducing flight speed by around 15% and design aircraft for these lower speeds could reduce fuel burn by 5% to 7%. One drawback of reducing speed is the potential negative impact on airline productivity and passenger acceptance, especially for longer flights. However, for a transatlantic flight, the flight time would only increase by about 50 minutes, which could be offset by reduced airport waiting times.
The report goes on state that reducing aviation’s environmental impact can also be achieved by managing demand, such as encouraging people to decrease travel or switch to alternative modes of transport. For instance, France has banned flights on routes with a rail alternative under 2.5 hours, cutting emissions by up to 95% per passenger kilometre, where a direct train is available.
However, only about 7% of aviation fuel burn is regional, and only a small fraction can be replaced by rail. Only about 10% of the world’s population have ever flown, but with the rising size of the middle classes in Asia, Africa, and South America, air travel is expected to double by 2050. This growth makes significant emission reductions through demand management challenging. Restricting emerging markets’ access to air travel would be strongly resisted as these countries seek the same opportunities industrialised nations have long enjoyed. In industrialised countries, significant restrictions would need to focus on frequent fliers to gain public acceptance.