Sustainable Aviation
Advancing greener aviation alongside operational safety
Aviation faces increasing pressure to reduce its environmental impact while maintaining the highest standards of safety and operational effectiveness. Climate change, emissions, noise, and local air quality are central considerations shaping the future of the industry.
IFALPA advocates for a balanced, evidence-based approach that integrates environmental objectives with operational feasibility, technological maturity, and economic sustainability. Through its engagement with regulators and industry stakeholders, IFALPA ensures that safety and real-world operational considerations remain central to decision-making.
Sustainable aviation fuels, operational efficiencies, and emerging technologies all contribute to reducing aviation’s environmental footprint, provided they are implemented in a way that maintains safety and system integrity.
Sustainable Aviation Fuels
Non CO₂ Effects & Contrails
Operational Efficiency
Innovation & New Energy
Balancing Climate with Operational Safety
Reducing aviation’s environmental impact involves complex trade-offs between emissions reduction, airspace capacity, fuel efficiency, and operational safety. Measures such as contrail avoidance, alternative fuels, and trajectory optimisation must be carefully assessed to ensure environmental benefits do not introduce unintended operational risks.
IFALPA advocates for a cautious, evidence-based approach to climate initiatives, ensuring that changes to flight planning, routing, and in-flight decision-making are supported by accurate data, reliable forecasting, and effective decision-support tools. This is particularly important given ongoing uncertainties, including non-CO₂ effects.
Long-term progress requires coordinated action across the aviation system, including aircraft technology, operational improvements, infrastructure, and market-based measures. IFALPA works with stakeholders to promote solutions that are environmentally effective, operationally sound, and globally harmonised.
Latest Publications
Introduction of Emerging Technology Aircraft in Civil Airspace
No abstract is currently available. Please click on Download to view this publication in PDF.
Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF)
This position paper highlights the role of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) in aviation’s efforts to reduce its environmental impact. SAF,
Operational Opportunities to Reduce the Impact of Contrails
Growing scientific evidence indicates that contrails, and especially aircraft-induced cirrus, have a significant overall warming effect. Chemical and physical processes
Long-Term Aspirational Goals for CO2 Reductions
The aviation industry has a record of achieving significant environmental improvements in the past decades. Since the beginning of the
All Engine-Out Taxi (AEOT)
Several concepts are being developed to enable aircraft ground movement without any aircraft engine running. Such concepts can be electrically-driven
Engine-Out Taxi
IFALPA acknowledges that one or two engines shut down can help to reduce noise, emissions and fuel use during taxi-in