Environmental responsibility needs to become a core business element of the aviation industry, rather than an add-on to impress politicians and appease the green brigade.

An early morning flight from Mumbai to Delhi—the sector which attracts the bulk of passenger traffic in the country—can be a memorable experience. Take off on schedule, friendly cabin crew, a comfortable flight. Then, just when it appears the destination is in sight, problems begin. The airliner enters an orbit and continues to circle for what seems like ages (delays of an hour are not unknown). Passengers get restive, anxiously enquiring if everything is all right. Regular feature, the cheerful air hostess assures them, We’ll soon be down. Finally, the plane comes in to land. The ordeal is not over, though. It could take another half hour or more to make the transit to the parking bay, accompanied by syrupy announcements of deep regret for any inconvenience caused. The ensuing litany of missed connections and rescheduled appointments can only be conjectured.

Irksome as such delays no doubt are, the waste of costly aviation fuel is appalling—even criminal. And what of the noxious greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions? Extra time in the air means more deadly GHG. Consider this. A Boeing 747 asked to orbit for a minute burns 250 litres of fuel and spews 750 kg of carbon dioxide (CO2). Not surprisingly, the aviation industry is gaining the dubious reputation of being one of the fastest growing contributors to climate change. No wonder a worried International Air Transport Association (IATA) is in the forefront of efforts to streamline air traffic the world over.

Airspace may seem vast and unlimited, but narrow airways are just as constricted as highways, and busy airports during peak hours are often the scene of controlled chaos. Weather, especially in winter, when most of north India is enveloped in a thick blanket of fog, undeniably plays spoilsport. But poor scheduling and outdated air traffic management (ATM) systems add to the congestion. If it is any consolation, India is not the only one affected—even the most advanced country in the world is hard hit. In 2007 alone, the US lost $40 billion (Rs 1,93,800 crore) on account of rescheduled flights—almost a third of all flights were either delayed or cancelled.

ATM holds the key
Airlines around the world, stung by mounting losses, have taken commendable steps to conserve fuel and cut costs. However, the single biggest advance in fuel conservation and emissions reduction could well be achieved by reforming the outdated ATM systems. Many are based on technology that is half-acentury old. Improvements over the years have been mostly ad hoc and incremental. The old adage applies: a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. It is still too much to hope that a given flight will have a reasonable assurance of taking off on time, proceeding to destination by the shortest route and being cleared to land without delay. More often than not, aircraft are stacked up or instructed to join fuel-guzzling holding patterns before being cleared to make their final approach.

Traffic in most parts of the world is organised on a national basis. Each time a plane enters the airspace of another country it is dealt with by a different air navigation service provider on the basis of different rules and operational requirements. This fragmentation affects safety, limits capacity, increases cost and boosts GHG emissions. However, most nations are perhaps understandably reluctant to cede control of their airspace to outside agencies.

Then again, vast stretches of airspace are restricted or prohibited to civil aircraft, mainly to permit safe and unhindered military training. There can be no quarrel with that. But what about a pre-Google Earth mindset which fears that security could be compromised by permitting civilian flights over any military facilities? Reopening military airspace to civilian use would greatly increase as the crow flies routes making for the most economical transits and drastically reducing overall aviation related GHG emissions. It is time that overly secretive attitudes were abandoned in the face of the far greater threat posed by global warming and climate change.