Environmental Aspects of Air Traffic Expansion

To expand, aviation must have a reliable, cost effective energy supply, and effectively deal with environmental issues related to energy production, noise, air quality, and climate change. This work describes the challenges arising from the environmental influences of air traffic and presents short-term projections of how the expansion of air traffic will affect global indicators of climate change. The development of air traffic, although it contributes to total greenhouse gases much less than other sources, nevertheless is helping to drive the strong increase in these gases in the atmosphere. This work presents technological solutions to the environmental problems caused by air traffic, primarily by reducing emissions of CO2 and NOx. Emphasis is placed on more efficient fuel consumption during operational segments before and during landing. This work describes collaboration between the Faculty of Traffic Sciences of the University of Zagreb and Croatia Airlines to measure the fuel-saving effects of using the continuous descent approach (CDA). The prospects of implementing CDA in Croatian airspace are discussed.