MEDIA RELEASE The Hon Mark Vaile MP  Deputy Prime Minister  Minister for Transport and Regional Services  Leader of the Nationals

05 June 2007   086MV/2007

MINIMISING AVIATION GREENHOUSE EMISSIONS WITHOUT A TICKET TAX

Australia had already demonstrated the aviation industry could minimise greenhouse emissions in  practical ways without a ticket tax, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Transport and  Regional Services, Mark Vaile, said today on World Environment Day.

"Even though aviation contributes just 2 per cent of global C02 emissions, Airservices Australia in  partnership with its airline customers, has shown that improving air traffic management can make  an important contribution to reducing growth in greenhouse gas emissions," Mr Vaile said.

"Contrary to recent calls from the left-wing think tank - the Australia Institute - for a new $30 tax  on passengers, the Howard/Vaile Government is focusing on practical measures to reduce aviation  greenhouse emissions and combat climate change.

"In fact, the aviation industry has been working on minimising aircraft emissions for some time,  internationally, through the International Civil Aviation Organization and regionally, with the APEC  economies," Mr Vaile said.

"Consistent with the commitment by the APEC Transportation Ministers at their meeting in Adelaide  in March, we will continue to do all we can to assist the aviation industry minimise the growth of  greenhouse gas emissions.

"In Australia, Airservices Australia has led the way by identifying a range of flight program initiatives  that specifically assist the industry to minimise its carbon footprint (See attachment).

"Some of the initiatives already showing significant returns concentrate on identifying efficiencies on  the ground before departure.  Others identify means of reducing fuel burn while in flight through  better traffic management and taking greater advantage of weather conditions," he said.

Mr Vaile said to improve our understanding of how aviation emissions could be reduced, Airservices  Australia was partnering with the University of New South Wales to develop a computer model  which quantified improvements made by advanced air traffic management techniques.

"The Howard/Vaile Government, through agencies such as Airservices Australia, is determined to  introduce new and more efficient practices that not only make flying more efficient, but build on  aviation safety considerations which will always remain our main focus," Mr Vaile said.

"Instead of measures like slugging Australian families with a $30 tax a move that would endanger  the jobs of hundreds of thousands of Australians, disadvantage regional aviation and add to the cost

of a family holiday we will continue to focus on practical greenhouse emission reduction initiatives."



Media Contacts

Tanya Cleary ( Mr Vaile's Office ) 6277 7680 / 0418 615 280

Attachment Airservices Australia Greenhouse Emissions Reduction Initiatives.

ATTACHMENT

AIRSERVICES AUSTRALIA GREENHOUSE EMISSIONS REDUCTION INITIATIVES

Ã¢ÂÂ     Pre-departure tactical management. This initiative better manages the timing of flight

departures by taking into account all factors impacting the air traffic network. For example,  when an aircraft is heading for a major destination where traffic is heavy and delays are  being experienced, just a five minute delay on the ground can avoid over 600 kg of CO2  emissions on a typical Melbourne to Sydney flight.

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Air traffic management Long-range Optimal Flow Tool (ALOFT). This air traffic  management tool is being used daily to predict landing times, delays and optimal arrival  time for aircraft arriving at Sydney, the national aviation hub. Air traffic controllers pass  information to the pilot as they cross into Australian airspace, still some three to fours hours  away from Sydney, and pilots then adjust their cruise speed to reduce delay at Sydney. This  reduces fuel burn and emissions because aircraft burn less fuel at high altitude than they do  at low altitudes.

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Continuous descent approaches (CDA). A trial which has been underway with Boeing  which allows aircraft to fly a continuous and uninterrupted descent, at idle power, from  cruise altitude all the way to the runway. These approaches reduce the amount of fuel burn  and emission, with early results showing a saving of over 1000kg of CO2 per flight.

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Required Navigation Performance (RNP) procedures. Airservices is introducing new  approach procedures that take advantage of the high precision navigation systems now  being fitted to aircraft. These procedures are known as RNP approaches, and use satellite  navigation and sophisticated cockpit systems to avoid terrain and weather constraints. These  procedures are more fuel efficient than some traditional procedures and their high precision  means that there is less need to hold aircraft on arrival and wait for the weather to improve.  This results in considerable improvements in fuel usage and greenhouse gas emissions.  During Airservices trials of RNP approaches in Brisbane in early 2007, each flight saved an  average of 280kg of fuel and around 900 kg of CO2.

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Flexible Tracks Every day, Airservices publishes Flextracks to provide airlines with non-fixed air traffic routes that are optimised for the prevailing weather. Flextracks allow aircraft  to ride the winds rather than fly a fixed route. Airservices Flextracks are now being used  widely between Australia and airports in Asia and the Middle East. They are already used by  several Australian and international airlines and the number is growing as existing

participants report significant time and fuel savings. For example one flight between the  Middle East and Sydney realised more than 43 minutes reduction in flying time and more  than an 8.4 tonnes reduction in fuel burn from using flexible tracking and prevailing weather  conditions

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High Fidelity Simulation of Aviation Emissions. Airservices is working with the  University of New South Wales to develop a high-fidelity computer simulation to model the  environmental impact of aviation. The ATOMS simulation will model the current  environmental impacts of Australian aviation and quantify the improvements made possible  by advanced air traffic management techniques. Quantitative analysis of the current  problem, and the options available to improve it, are crucial to help Airservices work with  industry and Government, so that together we can improve the environmental performance  of Australian aviation.

Tuesday, 5 June 2007



