With domestic airlines and high net-worth individuals in India planning to buy aircraft in huge numbers, the government has woken up to the environmental impact that the booming aviation sector.
The government has decided to undertake a baseline study in order to ascertain the amount of harmful emissions caused by the burgeoning aviation industry. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency under the ministry of power has been mandated to carry out the study. Sources said the study would try to find out the impact on environment and the remedial steps ought to be taken to limit it.
The number of aircraft in the domestic skies is expected to go up to over 1,500 in the next 12 months from the present 500, which will put immense pressure on fuel availability and environment.
The move by the government to ascertain the impact of aviation sector on environment is significant, as most of the countries in the European Union have imposed strict emission and noise restrictions on airplanes.
While globally the aviation industry contributes around 2% of the total pollution, the sector is already taking on pollution head-on before it gets out of control.
Recently, at the third aviation and environment summit in Geneva, 13 organisations including the international airline body IATA, as well as aircraft manufacturers Airbus, Boeing and Bombardier, signed a declaration to adopt several strategies against pollution in a campaign against global warming.
The declaration also commits the sector to the development and application of new technologies, to fuel efficiency, improvement of air routes, traffic management and airport infrastructure.
One of the major areas of concern is congestion at major airports like Mumbai and Delhi, which leads to many aircraft circling above an airport and wasting fuel. The ministry has already decided to shorten the distance between two aircraft waiting to land above an airport and has initiated many programs for modernisation and expansion of airport infrastructure so as to reduce the waiting time of an aircraft.
Many of the airlines are already working with IATA to shorten routes. This would not only reduce the amount of fuel burned but also knock off a significant amount of emissions. According to IATA, every minute of flying time knocked off a journey saves 62 litres of fuel and 160 kg of carbon dioxide emissions. Even the manufacturers are finding novel ways to cut costs and reduce damage to the environment. One of the largest commercial aircraft maker, Airbus, now offers a new two coat aircraft painting process that uses less paint and helps to reduce aircraft cleaning.