The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Fuelling changes in aviation sector

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Oct 23, 2007
ePaper

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Fuelling changes in aviation sector

Divya Gandhi

Study to be conducted soon on reducing fuel consumption

Consumptionof aviation fuel growing every year
The eight-month exploratory study will cost Rs. 27 lakh

— Photo: K. Gopinathan

Streamlining flying: The IISc. will study variables that will help arrive at a better management of aircraft traffic. Aircraft parked at the Bangalore airport.

Bangalore: Bangalore airport will soon be the subject of an intensive study, the results of which may well become something of a blueprint for the Civil Aviation Ministry in their management strategies for the sector.

Concerned by the phenomenal levels of fuel consumption by India’s aviation industry (three million tonnes every year), its wasteful utilisation and the pollution it causes, the Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA), a Delhi-based society under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, has funded a study that ropes in the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.) and National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL).

Even as the consumption rate of aviation fuel grows at 24 per cent every year, much of it is avoidable if only some good management strategies are put in place, believes PCRA. “Up to 15 to 20 per cent of fuel can be saved in this sector — not just through technology, but with just some basic management changes. Most of the wastage happens because of inefficient air traffic management and in the large amounts of time spent in taxiing and hovering. Just half an hour of hovering could consume up to two tonnes of fuel,” said B. N. Raghunanadan, Chairman, Department of Aerospace Engineering, IISc.

Airports have well exceeded their capacity, and air traffic grows at nearly 20 percent annually, said R. Srinivasan, Professor, Department of Management Studies, IISc. “Aircraft typically hover for close to 30 minutes at the Delhi airport because landing clearances cannot be given owing to air traffic congestion,” he said. “And in Bangalore airport, the taxiing run time is a minimum of five or six kilometres, when no more than two kilometres is the advocated time.”

Some of these problems can be solved with better scheduling of flights, Prof. Srinivasan said. The IISc will study variables that will help arrive at a better management of aircraft traffic and scheduling of flights, he said. It will also examine propulsion, aerodynamic, structural and fuel efficiency and other factors that affect fuel consumption. NAL’s simulation laboratory exercises will be used to create scenarios for optimal fuel consumption.

Making the sector more energy-efficient will be a “win-win” for everyone, said Anil Kumar Goel, Director PCRA. “Fuel will be saved, airports will face less congestion and the enormous cost of pollution in the form of global warming will be reduced,” he said. The eight-month exploratory study will begin November, and will cost Rs. 27 lakh. Recommendations for best practices in aircraft and ground operations will then be presented to the Civil Aviation Ministry.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka