Establishing greener air traffic operations across Europe
Air travel is a core component of European society. Yet the release of exhaust gases and the formation of contrails are significant contributors to global warming. While our ease with mobility must continue, new ways to decrease aviation emissions are needed to create a greener future for the planet. In the short to medium term, reductions in carbon emissions could come from changes in flight trajectory design and air traffic control operations. “There is no ‘big bang’ solution which makes aviation much greener from one moment to another,” says Michael Finke, project coordinator from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Germany. “It’s more a continuous optimisation or ‘fine-tuning’, taking little steps towards greener aviation,” he adds. In the EU-funded GREAT project, a consortium of researchers and industry professionals from across Europe developed new environmentally friendly air traffic management (ATM) operational concepts, to demonstrate how aviation could sustainably reduce its impact on climate change. The most carbon-intensive part of a flight is departure, though this is necessary to reach altitude. “We identified several smaller potentials in all phases of flight, and considering the large persistence of carbon emissions it is worth implementing all of them, especially when this can be done with low effort,” notes Finke. The project developed several green ATM concepts, all of which enable as many flights as possible to fly their most optimal route, using the most efficient flight profile during climb, cruise and descent, and likewise during taxi operations on the ground.
Developing and testing greener ATM ideas
GREAT started with a basic development phase, where project partners defined new ATM concepts. The team then generated concrete combinations for specific use cases, before a tool development phase took place. The new concepts and tools were then validated in the simulators of consortium partners with operational air traffic controllers (ATCOs).
Testing new airspace concepts
Two GREAT partners, DLR and HungaroControl, concentrated on the approach phase, testing new airspace concepts, corresponding procedures and appropriate assistance tools. DLR investigated approach procedures and controller support systems using a holistic analysis of the airspace. This led to a new method that provides individually optimised approach trajectories in the complex environment of a terminal manoeuvring area (TMA). HungaroControl developed three new supporting functions, including ‘what if’ scenarios, improved estimated time of arrival (ETA) based on artificial intelligence (AI), and an AI-based advice system for flight sequencing and speed control. This results in a more predictable traffic flow, enabling less fuel consumption. Using these new functionalities, HungaroControl further developed their ATC decision support tool called MergeStrip 3.0. MergeStrip 3.0 was tested during a month-long trial with the participation of 11 ATCOs. GREAT also developed an airspace structure that provides unique approach procedures depending on aircraft technical specifications. This enables continuous descent operations even at busy airports. The project results show that depending on the type of aircraft, between 80 and 160 litres of kerosene can be saved per approaching flight, which corresponds to emissions of 250-500 kilograms of carbon dioxide.
Toward greener aviation in Europe
The GREAT results can help to develop better ATC strategies in the future, such as those which enable a smaller deviation from the aircraft’s optimal flight profile, or to keep the environmental impact of any ATM measures at a minimum.
Keywords
GREAT, air traffic, control, AI, strategies, deviation, greener, carbon, emissions
