Integrating Non-CO2 climate impact considerations in air traffic management: Opportunities and challenges

Abstract

This study investigates the potential for mitigating the non-CO₂ climate impact induced by air traffic operations at the network scale. Due to the spatiotemporal dependency of non-CO₂ climate impact, aircraft trajectory planning emerges as an operational strategy to mitigate their corresponding effects. However, trajectory planning without considering the interactions between flights is inadequate when studying the actual climate impact mitigation potential. Indeed, meeting climatically oriented aerial traffic requires a holistic view of different aspects of adopting climate-optimal trajectories. In this study, we aim to assess the network-scale effects of full 4D climate-friendly aircraft trajectories. Different indicators are employed to assess air traffic safety, manageability, cost-efficiency, and the environmental impact of optimized routes. Our findings suggest that while optimized trajectories can potentially reduce climate impact, they introduce significant challenges related to air traffic safety, complexity, and demand, especially in sectors in proximity to climate hotspots. These insights highlight the need to develop an advanced mechanism enabling a safe and efficient air traffic management system with minimal climate impact.