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The environmental effects of peak hour air traffic congestion: The case of London Heathrow Airport

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  • Irvine, Daniel
  • Budd, Lucy
  • Ison, Stephen
  • Kitching, Gareth

Abstract

The commercial air transport sector currently faces the serious and seemingly incompatible challenge of meeting growing consumer demand for flight whilst reducing its environmental impact and meeting increasingly stringent international emissions targets. Growing demand for air travel combined with improvements in environmental performance in other industrial sectors means that commercial aviation has become a key focus for tackling climate change. The aim of this paper is to quantify the impacts of capacity-induced airport congestion using the case of London Heathrow Airport. The paper quantifies the environmental effect of airborne delays to inbound aircraft at the heavily constrained London Heathrow Airport on emissions and local air quality. The findings reveal that the additional CO2 and NOx emissions resulting from airborne delays are significant and will increase if capacity constraints on the ground are not addressed. The results are analysed in the context of Heathrow's climate change targets and current debates surrounding expansion and the challenge of reconciling environmental sustainability with aviation growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Irvine, Daniel & Budd, Lucy & Ison, Stephen & Kitching, Gareth, 2016. "The environmental effects of peak hour air traffic congestion: The case of London Heathrow Airport," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 67-73.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:retrec:v:55:y:2016:i:c:p:67-73
    DOI: 10.1016/j.retrec.2016.04.012
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Givoni, Moshe & Rietveld, Piet, 2010. "The environmental implications of airlines' choice of aircraft size," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 159-167.
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    Cited by:

    1. Herdis HERDIANSYAH & Hudy Prabowo EDYSON & Sessario Bayu MANGKARA & Zulfahmi Ilman HINDAMI, 2019. "Supporting Factors And Factory Employee’S Behaviour In The Use Of Public Transportation Mode In Jakarta," Transport Problems, Silesian University of Technology, Faculty of Transport, vol. 14(1), pages 127-139, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Airport capacity; Climate change; Air quality; Sustainability; UK;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R40 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - General
    • R41 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise
    • R49 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Other

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