Evaluation of strategies for reducing taxi-out emissions at airports

Abstract

Aircraft taxiing on the surface contribute significantly to the fuel burn and emissions at airports. This paper is aimed at estimating the baseline fuel burn and emissions from taxi-out processes at airports, evaluating the potential benefits of strategies proposed to reduce them, and assessing the critical implementation barriers that need to be overcome prior to the adoption of these approaches at airports. This study evaluates the effects of two different strategies, namely, single engine taxiing and operational tow-outs, as well as the total potential decrease in taxi times, fuel burn and emissions that may be obtained through various operational improvements at airports. The baseline emission calculation is done for all domestic commercial flights in the US for the year 2007, and a comparative study of the effects of these strategies is performed for the top twenty airports (by number of departures) in the US.