There’s No Way to Slash Airline Emissions Without Greener Fuel
As passenger traffic rises and more large planes ply long routes, sustainable aviation fuel is the one technology that can help.
In the run-up to the (almost but not quite) four-day weekend over July 4th, US air travel set a new record. The Transportation Security Administration said it screened nearly 2.9 million fliers on June 30, the highest daily count in the agency’s history. Flying in the US has rebounded from its Covid-19 lows.
And if global expectations hold true, elsewhere, air travel will just go up and up. In its recently released 2023 commercial market outlook, Boeing Co. predicts the world’s fleet of commercial planes (now numbering just over 24,500) will double by 2042. More planes, more passengers and the continuing predominance of larger aircraft add up to a big climate takeaway: Sustainable aviation fuel will be critical to the effort of decarbonizing the industry.