New Study Advances Air Traffic Emission Reduction Strategies

We are excited to announce that our research article "Leveraging demand-capacity balancing to reduce air traffic emissions and improve overall network performance" has been published in the renowned journal Transportation Research Part A: Policy. The study focuses on optimizing European air traffic management (ATM) to cut emissions and enhance aviation efficiency. It was conducted as part of the Horizon 2020 research project CADENZA, the mathematical modelling of which was led by Professor Arne Strauss at WHU.

By comparing coordinated capacity optimization with the current fragmented approach, the research highlights the potential of a network-centric ATM system. Such a system could significantly decrease costs for Airspace Users (AUs) and re-routing-related emissions, thanks to reduced delays and improved capacity allocation.

The research also introduces an innovative trajectory-independent airport-pair charging scheme, favoring shorter routes to minimize costs and emissions. When coupled with suitable capacity adjustments, this approach could lead to nearly 11% in cost savings for AUs and the potential to eliminate up to 320,000 tons of emissions.

Professor Strauss noted, "Our study provides actionable insights for policymakers aiming to enhance air traffic management and achieve substantial emission reductions." Jan-Rasmus Künnen, lead author of the paper and now a proud doctoral title holder, expressed his enthusiasm for contributing to impactful research.

This study advances efforts in curbing aviation emissions while optimizing network performance, pointing toward a more sustainable future for air travel.

For more details, the full article can be accessed here.

Authors: Jan-Rasmus Künnen, Arne K. Strauss, Nikola Ivanov, Radosav Jovanović, Frank Fichert