Sustainable propulsion alternatives in regional aviation: The case of the Canary Islands

Abstract

Sustainability is one of the main challenges the aviation industry is currently facing. In a global context of energy transition towards cleaner and renewable sources, the sector is developing technologies to fly more efficiently and mitigate its environmental impact. Innovative propulsion alternatives such as biofuels, electric aircraft and hydrogen engines are already a reality or are close to becoming so. To assess their feasibility, a study is conducted on specific routes and aircraft across different flight ranges. The analysis focuses on the Canary Islands, an outermost region of the EU with high mobility and no comparable alternative means of transport. For three routes, flight profiles are analyzed, obtaining the fuel consumption and emissions generated by the conventional propulsion and later applying the sustainable alternatives. The results indicate optimistic perspectives, with reductions in environmental impact ranging between 40% and 75% compared to the present.