Air Traffic is on the Rise
Airbus thinks the A380 will help to manage this growth
As the number of air travelers increases around the globe, so does concern about congestion on the ground and in the sky.
Been to an airport lately? Have you noticed the hordes of passengers congregated in front of ticket counters and at security checkpoints? If so, then you won't be surprised to learn that global air traffic is on the rise.
In the U.S., domestic airlines carried 110.8 million scheduled domestic and international passengers during the first two months of 2007, 1.7 percent more than they carried at the same time the previous year [1].
Across the ocean in Europe, Munich Airport welcomed its 30-millionth passenger in December 2006, the first time the airport ever broke the 30-million barrier. Airports in the UK currently handle about 200 million passengers a year, though local industry leaders note that this figure is increasing rapidly [2]. Despite concerns about environmental pollution, air safety, and noise, airport expansion plans are in the works at Heathrow and Stansted.
Asia, meanwhile, is on track to become the world's largest aviation market by 2010. Giovanni Bisignani, director general and chief executive of the International Air Transport Association, said, "Aviation is the world's most exciting industry and Asia is the region that is going to drive it forward" [3].
Given the growth of air travel around the globe, many of the industry's major players are concerned about the ramifications for airports and the airways. Airbus argues that its new jumbo, the A380, will accommodate this growth by transporting hundreds of passengers on one aircraft at a time without increasing the number of air traffic movements, ultimately helping to ease an already congested sky.
At the turn of the millennium, San Francisco International Airport put Airbus' rationale to the test. The airport constructed a one billion dollar terminal for large aircrafts such as the A380. Airport officials sought to make more efficient use of the airport's limited runway space by trying to increase passenger traffic without increasing the number of flights arriving and departing from the airport.
In 2005, officials reported that since developing the project (which has attracted new services such as SF to New Zealand, Iceland, China, Vietnam, and Mexico), passenger traffic grew by 12%, while the number of flight operations increased by only 5.1% (exactly the kind of balance airport officials were hoping for) [4].
Despite widespread concern in the industry about congestion, "Very Light Jets" (VLJs), or small jets that can transport three to seven passengers, have found their way onto the radar screen. The introduction of these tiny planes has sparked a dialog about the future of air travel. Can VLJs be used as personal jets to commute to work? Can they serve as the vehicles of an air taxi service? If so, how will that affect congestion in the air? Time will tell.
References:
[1] Bureau of Transportation Statistics
[2] UK growth
[3] Asia driving industry forward
[4] SF's plan for air traffic growth
