Aviation industry is already causing 2.5 per cent of world’s total carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and Air France has to quickly find ways to optimise every flight operations to reduce its environmental footprint, said a senior official of the airline on Tuesday. Laurent Lafontan, Vice President, Flight Operation Change Program, Air France, said: “We are committed to reduce environmental impact of our industry. Why? Because nowadays, aviation is 2.5 per cent world’s total CO2 emissions. It could be worse in the future due to (air) traffic increase. We have to move. We are in a critical situation." As per the last European perceptions of climate change (EPCC) report, our climate situation is alarming, he mentioned during the panel discussion here at Airbus Summit 2021 on the topic of “Pioneering Sustainable Aerospace".
“It is for this reason that Air France has decided to reduce its CO2 emissions by 50 per cent by 2030, in comparison to 2005, which is truly in line with the ambition of SESAR and all my partners around this table," Lafontan noted. The Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) is a joint undertaking established in 2007 — with Eurocontrol and European Commission as its founding members — for modernisation of the european air traffic management (ATM) system by coordinating and concentrating all ATM relevant research and innovation efforts in the European Union.
Lafontan stated: “To be able to reach this target (of reducing 50 per cent emissions by 2030), we have to act along two time scales — long term as well as short term. Long term means technological breakthrough such as new engines, airspace redesign, new airplanes, etc." He said Air France has invested massively to renew its fleet. “Nowadays, we have already got few Airbus A350. We are really happy that we are going to have our first A220 this month. At the end, we will have 60 of these aircraft. All this will allow us in reducing CO2 emissions by 20-25 per cent," he added.
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On short term, we have to act right away, he mentioned. “So we have to find quick way to optimise everyday operations by green operating procedures, by taxing with only single engine which is really safe and saves fuel, which decreases CO2 emissions. Albatross is typically in this short-term path," he noted. Under SESAR, Albatross is an initiative of major European aviation stakeholders under which 1,000 demonstration flights would be conducted starting September 2001 to find the most efficient flight path that has a minimal environmental footprint.
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