Increasing aircraft efficiency is a key aspect of reducing the sector's carbon footprint.
Until the beginning of 2020, few sectors enjoyed a sustained long-term growth as the one enjoyed by the air transport. However, the coronavirus COVID19 crisis changed many things in a very short time. The sector had to rearrange many pieces in the puzzle.
Some of the factors that were already present at the time of repairing the damage suffered by the aeronautical sector following that unexpected crisis were related to the recovery of the companies themselves in the sector. But there were other concepts that will remain in force and will also be key in the constant improvement of the sector. One of them is sustainability of air transport in general and aircraft in particular.
In recent years, the popularity of air travel has increased significantly among passengers due to short travel times on long journeys and at about very competitive prices Since low-cost airlines entered the scene. However, this popularity has brought with it negative effects. Since the beginning of the aviation industry, fossil fuel has been used as the sole fuel source to propel aircraft. As a result, the entire aviation industry contributes around 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
That is why, since the beginning of this millennium, aircraft manufacturers are investing more than any other manufacturing sector in developing solutions to reduce that percentage and reduce their carbon footprint. However, the explosive growth in demand has meant that any benefits achieved have been immediately mitigated. Aircraft efficiency is one of the key issues.
Once the crisis is over, we must not let our guard down. While the recovery in air transport has been consolidated, we must continue working to ensure that aircraft are increasingly efficient and that the sector is able to reduce its carbon footprint.
In this infographics we would like to take a break to look at some of the aspects that are being worked on today to improving aircraft efficiency and, consequently, to achieve a increasing its sustainability. There are many other lines of work that we will address in future infographics, but from this point we can get a clear idea of what the evolution has been up to today and assess the path that still remains for us to travel.
