Environmental effects of aircraft operations and airspace charging regimes. Final report

Project aim and outline: There has been anecdotal evidence that differences in airspace charging regimes influence airlines’ preferred routes and flight plans through European airspace. Routing aircraft over longer distances in order to reduce direct operating costs has a range of fuel burn and greenhouse gas emission consequences that have yet to be adequately quantified. The aim of this project is to study the environmental costs of different airspace charging regimes in Europe to ascertain whether the level of route charges that are levied for performing a flight affects the route that is flown between specific origin/destination pairs. Through a strategic assessment of a sample of airline flight plans and discussion with stakeholders, the study investigates the drivers of these apparently inefficient flight plans, quantifies the proportion of European routes that are affected (and the additional distances that are travelled) and identifies the greenhouse gas emission (focussing on carbon dioxide) implications of the observed behaviours.