The recently launched SESAR JU very large demonstration project, ALBATROSS, unites multiple actors from the aviation industry to demonstrate the potential of commercial aviation to reduce the environmental impact of air traffic.
Airlines, air navigation service providers, airport operators, military, the Network Manager, controllers, pilots, airframe manufacturers, suppliers and scientists are taking a holistic approach, collaborating on a range activities to improve flight efficiency, and to save fuel and reduce emissions as much as possible.
In this article, project leader, Mattia Nurisso from AIRBUS, highlights the main objectives, challenges and activities planned by the project.
What are the main objectives of the project?
The ALBATROSS project aims to define and demonstrate operational solutions and processes allowing greener flights, minimising the environmental impact of aviation while maximising flight efficiency. To do this, ALBATROSS will explore the possibility of implementing and supporting the most efficient flight with minimum fuel consumption and zero CO2 emissions waste. The project aims to map activities/procedures that lead to fuel/CO2 waste during gate-to-gate operations and propose ways to mitigate them.
Which are the main challenges that have to be addressed?
The biggest challenge lies in ensuring complementarity between already individually proofed solutions. These have all already demonstrated in a given operational scenario and under specific circumstances that they can improve flight efficiency and reduce fuel waste. The real challenge will be to determine how these solutions can work together, in a real and operational environment and supported by existing multi-stakeholder processes.
Which activities are planned and how will they interfere?
The project will focus on both local and gate-to-gate demonstration exercises. The team will aim to incorporate local solutions in broader optimisation exercises on given city-pairs (so called gate-to-gate). The objective is to demonstrate how solutions, when combined, may bring even more added value in a global environment. This is the ultimate advantage of such a heterogeneous and pan-European ALBATROSS consortium.
