Emissions Reductions Enabled by Improved Airport Surface Operations

Abstract

Capacity constraints in the United States national airspace system (NAS) have coupled with the growth in air traffic to increase congestion in airways, terminal areas and on the airport surface. In this paper, we discuss the growth in aviation emissions from ground operations in the United States from 1995 to 2000 and investigate the potential for emissions reductions under 3 scenarios: improved operations, single-engine taxiing, and use of tow trucks to move aircraft to and from runways. Emissions estimates, unlike with previous models, are based on actual mission times and aircraft types from the Airline Service Quality Performance (ASQP) data, compiled by the US Department of Transportation (DOT) from information provided by the ten largest US carriers. Results indicate that surface emissions have been growing faster than airborne operations or total mission time in domestic US aviation, and may therefore become a constraint on airport expansion. The potential for emissions reductions through improved ground operations and single-engine taxiing is significant. The net environmental benefits from using tow trucks are unclear and should be investigated further.