Environment-Related Opportunities and Challenges in the Aviation Industry
Introduction
The aviation industry is continuously growing to meet the demands of modern civilization. The industry is striving to reduce the rate of accidents through developing fresh aspiring safety goals by increasing the knowledge about the cause of air accidents and incorporation of new technologies and mechanisms. Technological development and globalization has reduced the world into a global village. Nonetheless, the aviation industry plays a significant role in ensuring the globe is physically connected. Several airline organizations, for instance, British Airways, Fly Emirates, and Egypt Air fly people and luggage from one destination to the other globally. Therefore, the aviation industry forms a significant sector in the development of the global business and trade. However, the sector continues to encounter several challenges and opportunities globally. The current paper analyzes the impact of environmental factors by providing the challenges and opportunities in the aviation sector. The environmental factors discussed in the current paper are important for stakeholders within the aviation industry. They help in making further decisions because they trigger the likelihood of other influences, which may make the aviation industry effective or faulty.
Exploring the environmental challenges and benefits that are related to the aviation industry is significant because it allows stakeholders in the sector to alleviate any negative environmental implications (Meyer, 1995). This process is significant in ensuring that the aviation industry does not only expand the economy of nations but also makes people to live comfortably in the environment. The sector needs to uphold several issues, which will improve operations as demanded in the new business world. The contemporary corporate world focuses on the need to incorporate the environmental care into business objectives. Numerous planes that fly many air terminals across the globe are important for the growth of the world economy (Waitz et.al, 2004). Furthermore, the planes are further categorized according to the miles and routes they operate on. Therefore, the aviation industry caters for about 2.5 billion passengers globally both for tourism and business trips (EASA, 2012).
The aviation industry also transits more than one third of the global produced products by air. The sector is among the world’s biggest source of employment for millions of populations hence significantly contributing to the world’s GDP. Since its establishment in 1783, the aviation industry has also experienced challenges (Whitelegg, 2000). Currently, many commercial flights have continued to dominate the skylines as compared to the past. It is apparent that despite the fact that air travel has increased, there is a relative rise in the greenhouse gas emission form the industry, which has escalated by 75% (EASA, 2012). For example, the growth of China’s air travel has tremendously risen as compared to any other nation in the world. This signifies a significant growth in the air travel industry in the nation. Nonetheless, as the growth in the aviation sector takes place, several environmental challenges are also encountered. Firstly, the customary craft has been acknowledged to be among the major causes of noise pollution. Therefore, the craft noise impacts the quality of life of the populations that live close to the air terminals. In the United Kingdom, more than half a million populations inhabit places that are adjacent to airports, for example, in the South East of England. As a result of the aviation environmental effects, several policies have been put in place by the government. The policies are aimed at minimizing noise pollution as well as decreasing their effects on the populations close to the air terminals.
Moreover, a higher number of aircrafts increases air traffic. Despite the development, air traffic also pauses a challenge since it makes the efforts to make individual flights serene and peaceful unfruitful. Consequently, the forecast unrestrained progression in the aviation industry implies that it would result in a noisier polluted environment in many international airports in the future. Therefore, the high populations of people living close to air terminals will be subjected to risks allied with flight take-off and landing noises. The number of risks involved include irritation, sleep disturbance, and hearing problems, as a result of craft noise. Therefore, stakeholders in the aviation industry need to take measures in regard to the noise concerns adjacent to major airports. The aviation noise pollution is a bigger element that will hinder further growth and expansion of the aviation industry.
The aviation industry also faces a major challenge resulting from the negative implications of the overall climatic change. Increased flights in the air rises the effects of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. The industry significantly contributes to the increased amount of carbon dioxide discharges. The world is also experiencing an increase in other greenhouse gases, for instance, Nitrous Oxide and Water vapor that impact the stratosphere. The higher rate of commercial airlines in the air, therefore, is responsible for the air pollution being experienced globally. Therefore, despite its advantages, air transport largely contributes to the growing amount of greenhouse gases, for example, carbon dioxide that have significantly enhanced climatic change globally (Nguyen-Taylor & Agudelo, 2015). For instance, the commercial jet engine aircraft is acknowledged as the world’s leading air polluter through its emission of about 700 million tons of carbon dioxide (EASA, 2012).
Carbon dioxide emitted in the atmosphere is part of the greenhouse gases that are responsible for global warming effect. For example, a person flying on a commercial jet between Washington DC and London accounts for about 2 tons of CO2 generation. On average, this encompasses a huge amount of CO2 emission. As a result, crowded skylines mean that there is an increase in the quantity of flight population, which implies more fuel consumption, hence pollution. An augmented consumption in the aviation industry indicates that more greenhouse gases are emitted, which adversely contributes to global warming. Despite the fact that plants and other bodies absorb relative amount of the carbon dioxide, a huge amount of the gas is emitted to the atmosphere (EASA, 2012).
When the gas is combined with other gases in the atmosphere, the resultant impact is the formation of greenhouse effect around the earth. The impact of greenhouse effect is that the atmospheric heat that ordinarily outflows into space is redirected back into the atmosphere, hence resulting in increased overall temperatures. Furthermore, water vapor and Nitrogen Oxides that are emitted from the aircrafts result in cirrus cloud formation, therefore, generating contrails, which are normally observable by those close to the earth’s surface. Despite the fact that noise and air pollution seem to be the most noticeable environmental distresses linked to the aviation industry, there are several other associated impacts. Other environmental challenges, for example, land grabbing are aimed at construction and expansion of airports. Expansion of airports by taking land forcefully from the owners impacts communal national heritage sites, wildlife, and fundamental human activities. Furthermore, growth and expansion of the aviation industry also results in water pollution that emanates from aircraft runaway cleaning and airport construction. Most of the major airports have also had an ineffectual waste management in the terminal structures. Therefore, many discussed environmental distresses seem generic to the development of the aviation industry. The best approach for the aviation industry to adopt is the green movement that would reduce the environmental concerns of the industry.
In line with this discussion, it is apparent that the aviation industry significantly contributes to the world’s economy. Nonetheless, the industry also encounters several negative and positive impacts on the environment, for example, the effect of carbon dioxide emitted. The main concerns that the industry faces are pollution, environmental deprivation, and natural resource depletion among others. Therefore, both the governmental and non-governmental entities need to set up measures to ensure that the positive outcomes of the aviation industry do not result in negative implications to the populations and the environment. Such determination will lead to economic growth and improve the life of many people.
References
European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA, 2012). Report on European Aviation Safety Plan. Retrieved from: https://www.easa.europa.eu/system/files/dfu/sms-docs-European-Aviation-Safety-Plan-%28EASp%29-2012-2015–v1.0-FINAL.pdf
Meyer, S. M. (1995). The Economic Impact of Environmental Regulation. Journal of Environmental Law & Practice, 3(2), 4-15.
Nguyen-Taylor, K. & Agudelo, M. (2015). How Environmental Factors Affect Airlines’ Cost Structures. Advisor Prospectives. Retrieved from:
Waitz, I., Townsend, J., Cutcher-Gershenfeld, J., Greitzer, E., & Kerrebrock, J. (2004). Aviation and the environment: A national vision statement, framework for goals and recommended actions.
Whitelegg, J. (2000). AVIATION: The Social, Economic, and Environmental Impact of Flying. Ashden Trust, London.