Watch for Sparks as Jet Engines Hit Their Limits
Electric commercial flight is beginning to show promise — hopeful news in an era of rising aviation emissions.
Upward doesn’t always mean onward.
Photographer: Farooq Naeem/AFP via Getty Images
Earlier this week, my Bloomberg Opinion colleague Chris Bryant examined the ongoing troubles for advanced jet engines used on today’s commercial airliners. These engines now seem to be reaching their technical limits, and as Bryant says, we may be asking too much of the technology.
That’s not great news for the companies making those turbines, or for those flying the aircraft. It’s also not the best news for the climate, given the trajectory of emissions from air travel and air freight. Carbon dioxide emissions from commercial aviation made up 2.4% of global emissions in 2018 and, according to the International Council on Clean Transportation, have grown 32% in just five years.