The Impact of Different Aircraft Categories on Emissions, Air Quality, and Human Health

Abstract

Previous studies have estimated that over 16,000 annual early deaths are induced by global aviation emissions. Combined with a growing industry, this calls for sustainable developments to reduce the negative impact on human health. However, the potential application of more sustainable technologies varies amongst aircraft size and range. Thus, an understanding of the impacts on air quality for different aircraft types and flight distances is required to estimate the impact mitigation potential of sustainable aviation alternatives. In this study, we compare the impact of aircraft size and flight distance on emissions intensity, associated changes in air quality, and aviation-attributable premature mortality to evaluate these potential mitigation options. Specifically, we use the openAVEM emissions inventory to estimate aircraft emissions and the GEOS-Chem atmospheric chemistry-transport model to evaluate their impacts on ground-level concentrations of ozone (O₃), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), and fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) including black carbon (BC).
We estimate that aviation activities in 2019 were responsible for nearly 80,000 early deaths, of which 65% are found in Asia. We find that widebody aircraft are associated with 57% of aviation-attributable premature mortality, and that this type has a 66% higher impact per revenue passenger kilometre (RPK) than narrowbody aircraft. Furthermore, O3 impacts are largest for long-haul flights, while intra-European flights yield 50% larger impacts per RPK than similar flights globally. We conclude that only 5% of all aviation-attributable premature mortality is associated with regional aircraft and that the 5% longest flights are responsible for almost half of the impact. Results of this work provide insights on the potential air quality impacts of the sustainable aviation mitigation options relevant for different aircraft categories and flight distances.