Proper air traffic management reduces the environmental impact of air operations. While ensuring aircraft safety, the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency has been placing emphasis on environmental issues for many years. Within its sphere of responsibility, PANSA makes every effort to ensure that its operational activities contribute to measurable results in the form of reduced fuel consumption by aircraft and, consequently, reduced carbon dioxide emissions.
The primary objective of the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency is to ensure safe, smooth, and efficient air traffic. Where possible, the Agency also implements methods to reduce the negative impact of aviation operations on the environment. Activities in the area of environmental protection are multifaceted and bring measurable results. The solutions used by the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency contribute to reducing CO2 emissions into the air. Every day, the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency ensures the sustainable development of navigation services while minimizing the negative impact of aviation operations on the environment around us.
Since October 2009, one of the standard flight techniques performed by aircraft crews arriving at Warsaw Chopin Airport has been the “green approach,” or CDA (Continuous Descent Approach), provided by air traffic controllers.
CDA is an environmentally friendly flight operation technique that allows the aircraft captain to perform a smooth descent for landing, preferably from cruising altitude. Under CDA, the air traffic controller, as far as operational conditions allow, gives the crew the freedom to calculate the descent and approach profile so that the aircraft can descend with minimum engine thrust and avoid flying at a constant altitude. The use of CDA thus minimizes fuel consumption and reduces aircraft noise, while also reducing air pollution emissions. According to the indicator adopted in the European Aviation Environmental Report 2019 by Eurocontrol, CDA saves up to 46 kg of aviation fuel per operation, which means that up to 145 kg less carbon dioxide will be released into the environment. These values vary depending on the type of aircraft and the altitude at which this type of descent is initiated.
The “green approach” is a technique that is increasingly used today at controlled Polish airports. At Chopin Airport alone, in 2019, out of 96,509 landings, as many as 42.38% (PRU – Performance Review Unit data) were CDA approaches. These operations allowed carriers to save up to 1,883 tons of fuel, which means that up to 5,931 tons less carbon dioxide was released into the air.
CDA is also possible when landing in other Polish cities. Aviation documentation for individual airports describes, in varying degrees of detail, the smooth approach procedures applicable at a given airport. The CDA operation share indicator, i.e., the ratio of “green approaches” to total landings, ranges from 35.33% in Poznań to as much as 51.68% in Gdańsk at the largest airports in Poland in terms of flight operations, which can be considered a good result, especially when compared to European transport hubs. In 2019, the use of the CDA procedure at the six Polish airports with the highest traffic, i.e., Warsaw, Krakow, Gdańsk, Katowice, Wrocław, and Poznań, reduced potential carbon dioxide emissions into the air by a total of up to 12,267 tons. This is roughly the same as the weight of a hundred empty Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft.
Other operational activities of the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency also generate savings and protect the environment. The chain of dependencies can be reduced to the following principle: the longer the aircraft crew has to keep the engines running, the longer the aircraft will emit pollutants into the air. Therefore, the shorter the flight route, the greater the fuel savings for the carrier, and at the same time, lower carbon dioxide emissions and a cleaner environment. It is worth mentioning the operational implementation of the A-CDM (Airport Collaborative Decision Making) system at Warsaw Chopin Airport, which was made possible thanks to close cooperation between the airport and PANSA. A-CDM helps air traffic controllers to effectively manage aircraft traffic while still on the airport apron and to determine the optimal moment to start the engines so that the power units operate on the ground for as short a time as possible. This measure is synonymous with reduced fuel consumption, lower emissions, and reduced noise levels.
The Polish Air Navigation Services Agency also allows airspace users to submit flight plans for operations in FIR EPWW without intermediate points. This means that carriers can plan their flight routes in such a way as to fly the shortest possible route. Here again, the activities of the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency bring measurable benefits. In 2018, the work of the PAA services allowed for the planning of flight routes that were shorter by a total of 502,922 nautical miles, which translated into a reduction in fuel consumption of 3,520 tons and a reduction in CO2 emissions of 11,088 tons.
It should also be noted that since February 8, 2019, the Free Route Airspace (FRA) concept, known as POLFRA, has been operational in Polish airspace. It gives carriers greater freedom in preparing flight plans. POLFRA allows for the planning of flight routes through our airspace directly between defined navigation points (entry and exit) located at the FIR border, without the need to use the existing network of airways. Thanks to this solution, flights can be planned along routes that are closer to actual trajectories, reducing flight time and fuel consumption.
Air Traffic Controllers at PANSA work to minimize the negative impact of air operations on the environment. Understandably, the priority is to ensure the safety of passengers and aircraft crews flying above our heads. However, when the opportunity arises and the current operational situation allows it, air traffic controllers enable aircraft crews, including those approaching airports, to shorten their planned route and, at the same time, the distance they need to cover. These are acceptable and practiced deviations from carefully developed and necessary regulations governing air traffic flows, with a view to protecting the environment and the well-being of passengers. However, it should be remembered that the possibility of shortening the approach procedure specified in the documentation depends entirely on the current and dynamically changing operational, traffic, and weather conditions.
By reducing the number of kilometers traveled, carriers save fuel, passengers save time, less pollution is released into the environment, and residents living near the airport are exposed to higher noise levels for a shorter period of time. These reductions and savings are only possible thanks to the skilled and dedicated work of the Air Traffic Controllers of the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency.
All activities of the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency in the field of air traffic management are dictated by the need to ensure air navigation safety, but also by concern for the natural environment and the well-being of passengers and people living near airports. PANSA strives to meet the needs of all stakeholders and to minimize the impact of aviation operations on the environment.
PANSA segregates municipal waste into different fractions, and waste electrical and electronic equipment is sent for recycling in its entirety. Thanks to effective measures and the conscious approach of its employees, in 2019 PANSA segregated 36.4 tons of paper, 1.4 tons of glass, and 5.2 tons of plastics from municipal waste.
The agency continues to invest in environmentally friendly solutions that minimize the impact of its activities on the environment. In 2019, worn-out light sources were gradually replaced with LED fixtures and sources with a 5 times longer service life and lower electricity consumption than fluorescent lamps. Thanks to these upgrades, energy consumption fell by 6,720 kWh.
