New Zealand: Aviation plan offers big savings

Aviation stands to save $2b over the next 20 years by replacing ageing air traffic management systems with modern technology, says New Southern Sky director Steve Smyth. Ground-based radar technology now used to manage traffic dates from just after WWII, and the New Southern Sky programme will see it replaced with extensive satellite tracking. Smyth says the changes echo a similar technology switch elsewhere in the world. "It's all about delivering economic and environmental benefits. We'll see shorter, more direct journeys and a faster turnaround of aircraft. This will reduce the amount of CO2 generated by the industry and the change will pay off in terms of fuel savings, lower operating costs for airlines and less capital investment tied up in aircraft." In many cases, flying more direct routes could mean more noise for people living under flight paths, but Smyth says this is offset by quieter planes than in the past. He says a recent 22-week study looked at international flights taking a more direct northern approach route into Auckland airport. "The result of the changed flightpath meant 720,000kg less CO2 was dumped into the atmosphere", he says. In addition to more direct flights, the new system will link airports to each other. That way, flights can be better timed to reduce the number of planes waiting in costly and environmentally damaging holding patterns above cities as they wait for a landing slot.<br/>