US: Rocket launches cost airlines money and travellers precious time
When temporary no-fly zones appear above US rocket launch sites, airlines end up paying huge fuel costs to fly around them, while passengers have to spend more of their precious time in the air. In fact, a new study by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University calculates that all the extra fuel required to avoid restricted airspace during rocket launches costs airlines cumulatively between $10,000 and $30,000 per liftoff. One launch can create a ripple affecting thousands of airline passengers. Last February's SpaceX launch of its Falcon Heavy rocket delayed 563 airline flights resulting in 62 extra miles added to flights across the southeastern US, according to a report by the Air Line Pilots Association. Each flight was delayed an average of eight minutes. All this "results in planes sitting on the ground, longer routes, more fuel burn and longer flying times for passengers," said a written statement by A4A, an industry group that represents most major US airlines.<br/>But the issue points to a larger problem: America's national airspace -- shared by the fast-growing aviation and commercial space industries -- has been getting more complicated as more airliners and rockets take flight. That trend is expected to continue. <br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2018-07-19/general/us-rocket-launches-cost-airlines-money-and-travellers-precious-time
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US: Rocket launches cost airlines money and travellers precious time
When temporary no-fly zones appear above US rocket launch sites, airlines end up paying huge fuel costs to fly around them, while passengers have to spend more of their precious time in the air. In fact, a new study by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University calculates that all the extra fuel required to avoid restricted airspace during rocket launches costs airlines cumulatively between $10,000 and $30,000 per liftoff. One launch can create a ripple affecting thousands of airline passengers. Last February's SpaceX launch of its Falcon Heavy rocket delayed 563 airline flights resulting in 62 extra miles added to flights across the southeastern US, according to a report by the Air Line Pilots Association. Each flight was delayed an average of eight minutes. All this "results in planes sitting on the ground, longer routes, more fuel burn and longer flying times for passengers," said a written statement by A4A, an industry group that represents most major US airlines.<br/>But the issue points to a larger problem: America's national airspace -- shared by the fast-growing aviation and commercial space industries -- has been getting more complicated as more airliners and rockets take flight. That trend is expected to continue. <br/>
