SPECIAL REPORT: SUSTAINABILITY Working together


ACI’s senior manager environment, Xavier Oh, and CANSO’s director of industry affairs, Samantha Sharif, reflect on the ‘green’ benefits of collaborative decision-making.


I


t might not be what passengers want to hear, but sometimes protecting the environment is the reason why outbound aircraft are held at the gate past their scheduled departure times. Rather than pushing back exactly on time and joining a


departure queue of 10 aircraft on the tarmac, holding an aircraft at the gate with the engines switched off is better for all as it saves fuel and reduces local air polluting emissions and noise. And if electricity and cool air are supplied to the aircraft from the


terminal building, passengers onboard the aircraft have a comfortable environment in which to wait until the pilot of the aircraft gets the green light to push back and eventually take-off.


As we all know, of course, the flight will still arrive on schedule


as queuing times are built into the schedule by airlines to allow for daily fluctuations caused by the number of aircraft using the airport on any given day. The process can also help avoid early arrivals at the destination


airport, which may itself cause delays through no gate being available. This can sometimes lead to an aircraft being put in a holding pattern before it can land and the prolonged period in the air burns more fuel, increasing its environmental impact. The move to hold an aircraft at the gate is a prime example of airport Collaborative Decision Making. Known as CDM, this


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AIRPORT WORLD/AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2010


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