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Reductions in emissions – on the ground as well as in the air

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As I sat having lunch in the Geneva airport staff cafeteria this afternoon (excuse the photo – it was taken on my BlackBerry), I watched a Qatar Airways aircraft as it landed and docked at the gate. The ground crew dutifully attached the fixed electrical ground power and pre-conditioned air supply – thus allowing the pilot to switch off the auxiliary power unit and save fuel (as well as emissions). It was a reminder about a number of the small, on-the-ground operational initiatives that when added up, can help the industry save a great deal of CO2. Another example is engine washing. The Southwest Airlines ‘Nuts about Southwest’ blog produced a video about the process they are undertaking on their Boeing 737 fleet earlier this year:

Southwest estimate that by undertaking this procedure across its fleet, the airline will reduce emissions by around 134 million pounds of CO2 each year… so small steps can produce big results. I also came across this Southwest Airlines commercial from 1972 which provides a nice illustration of how aircraft engines have evolved in the last thirty or so years (not to mention the evolution in clothes).

At the end of the commercial, note the sooty emissions coming from the back of the aircraft – a common sight at airports of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s which has been eliminated by technological improvements in the decades since. The black clouds in view out the window at lunch today here in Geneva had nothing to do with aircraft exhaust – they were clouds of the natural kind rolling in over the Jura mountains.

 

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