Air travel refers to a mode of transportation that relies on airplanes, helicopters, gliders, jets, blimps, hot air balloons, and other media that fly. Globalization has allowed the opening of international borders, making it possible for people and goods to move from one nation to another (Sajjad, Noreen & Zaman 2014). The increased trade among countries has led to the rise in the demand for air transport.
Guttikunda, Goel, and Pant (2014) warn that the high usage of airplanes and the building of airports will have severe impacts on the environment. Ecologists cite the growth of air travel as one of the factors that are contributing to environmental pollution.
Plane engines emit carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides that cause global warming. Besides, they produce a lot of noise which could have devastating effects on people who live near airports or flight paths. Construction of airfields impacts environmental conservation, leading to the loss of natural vegetation. There is a need to control air travel because it contributes to severe pollution. This paper will discuss the role of air travel in noise and air pollution and give reasons why this mode of transportation should be restricted.
Noise Pollution
Restricting air transport can minimize the amount of noise that airplanes make, therefore improving the quality of life of the people who reside near airports. Grampella et al. (2016) argue that folks whose houses are below flight paths or close to airports have challenges in sleeping and concentrating due to the sound that planes produce as they land or take off. Scientists argue that any noise that is above 57 decibels is likely to have severe impacts on people.
Lawton and Fujiwara (2016) maintain that families or companies that are in proximity to airfields have exposure to sound that exceeds this limit, subjecting them to risk of becoming deaf or developing hearing problems. As per Sari et al. (2014), the noise from airplanes hinders concentration, making it hard for people to focus on their activities. Furthermore, it becomes difficult for individuals to engage in meaningful dialogues or participate in leisure activities in the comfort of their homes.
The majority of people who live under the flight paths complain of getting inadequate sleep because they are interrupted every time that an aircraft is passing. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that “if all negative effects of sleep are to be avoided, indoor sound levels should be 30 decibels, while no single noise event should exceed 45 decibels” (Guttikunda, Goel & Pant 2014, p. 504). The sound that airplanes make exceeds this limit by far, thus subjecting people to the risk of developing health complications.
Some people may contend that exposure to airplane noise is intermittent, as airports operate on a predetermined schedule. Therefore, individuals who reside near airfields are not subjected to constant sound. It is imperative to note that persons who live close to airports are vulnerable to noise from different sources. They include airside vehicular traffic, taxiing planes, generators, and airplane engine tests (Ozkurt et al. 2014). Moreover, as many people rely on air travel, the number of flights has grown significantly. Indeed, communities that live near airports cite aircraft noise as a major concern.
Air travel is helpful in shipping passengers and delicate products over long distances; hence there is a need to guarantee its continued utilization. Rather than restricting this mode of transport, it is imperative to look for measures to minimize its contribution to noise pollution. Countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom have enacted laws that limit the level of sound that airplanes generate. Technological advancement has enabled engineers to manufacture aircraft engines that make less noise.
Companies like Rolls-Royce have managed to manufacture engines that produce a sound that is at least 18 decibels lower than the required standards. Wolfe et al. (2016, p. 151) claim, “Aircraft noise arises from both engines and the movement of turbulent air over the physical structure (airframe) of an airplane”. Consequently, many aircraft-manufacturing firms have concentrated on reducing the sound that comes from the engines.
Some companies are contemplating changing the design of airplanes as a strategy to decrease the noise associated with turbulence. The other approach to reducing this type of pollution involves constructing airports in areas that are less densely populated. Ozkurt, Hamamci, and Sari (2015) allege that government planning policies discourage the construction of residential houses in noisy areas (66 decibels and above). Hence, people should be prevented from building homes close to airports or beneath flight paths.
Despite technological improvements, it is difficult for aircraft-manufacturing companies to develop engines that cannot cause noise pollution. Even though these firms have managed to reduce the degree of sound that airplanes make, they are yet to achieve the recommended decibels. Today, many people use air travel as their preferred mode of transport. Hence, the number of aircraft that land or depart from a given airport has grown significantly, adding to noise pollution. Most countries have already established airports in areas that are densely populated. Therefore, it is difficult for governments to review their land utilization policies as a strategy to curtail public exposure to noise pollution. The ultimate solution to dealing with this problem is regulating air travel.
Air Pollution
Airplanes, airport buses, and cars used by passengers who wish to reach airfields release carbon monoxide, fine particles, and nitrogen oxides which contribute to air pollution. Therefore, there is a need to restrict air travel as a way to reduce the discharge of these harmful compounds into the atmosphere. As per De Nazelle, Bode, and Orjuela (2017), incomplete combustion of jet fuel leads to the emission of carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds.
The kind and amount of pollutants released depends on the state of the aircraft. As an airplane takes off, lands, or ascends, it emits high levels of nitrogen oxide. Moreover, a plane releases hydrocarbons and carbon monoxides as it descends or during taxiing (Masiol & Harrison 2014). Apart from aircraft, airside cars like catering trucks, baggage trolleys, and tankers play a role in air contamination. One may argue that the contribution of these vehicles is negligible because they travel over short distances.
However, they fail to appreciate that these automobiles operate for many hours, and hence their pollution is cumulative. Indeed, research indicates that at least 10% of nitrogen oxides recorded in the airfields come from these vehicles (Schäfer & Waitz 2014). Other causes of air pollution include de-icing, engine testing, plane maintenance, and fire training drills.
Road transportation to and from the airports contributes to a significant fraction of contaminant discharge. People use taxis, light, and heavy cargo trucks, coaches, and vans to access the airfields (Khan et al. 2018). De Nazelle, Bode, and Orjuela (2017) insist that these modes of transport cater to over 10% of pollution attributed to air travel. In many instances, emission from road transport surpasses that linked to aircraft in areas that are close to airports.
Khan et al. (2018) posit that most employees, travelers, and cargo get to airports via road. It implies that motor vehicles “account for the largest single contribution to airport pollution levels” (Schlenker & Walker 2016, p. 771). The ease of use of public transport and the location of an airport determines the degree of this form of air pollution. For instance, at Heathrow, over 36% of travelers use both public and private vehicles to reach to the airport, therefore intensifying this environmental problem.
Restricting air travel is not the ultimate solution to environmental pollution, as it has been established that this problem arises from many sources. Aircraft-manufacturing companies have devised mechanisms for minimizing discharges from airplane engines. Stansfeld (2015) alleges that improved aerodynamics and inventive combustor designs help to curtail the release of harmful compounds like nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide.
As per Guttikunda, Goel, and Pant (2014), improving combustion efficiency leads to increased discharge of nitrogen monoxide. Nevertheless, engineers have succeeded in containing this problem by leveraging staged engines. Many environmentalists have called for the airplane-making industry to look for alternative forms of energy for fuelling planes. Some argue that it is the high time that the world started to use hydrogen and electricity as the major sources of power for aircraft.
Using clean forms of energy may help to curb air pollution associated with aircraft. Nevertheless, despite the current technological growth in the plane manufacturing industry, engineers are yet to find a substitute fuel that is as efficient as kerosene. The introduction of hydrogen as a source of power for airplanes would require decommissioning the existing aircraft and manufacturing others with engines that can run on this energy. Such a move would be costly to airline companies and passengers who rely on air travel. Moreover, Stansfeld (2015) claims that the use of hydrogen would result in planes discharging compounds that contain water vapor. This would intensify the effects of greenhouse gas, therefore not helping to resolve the challenge of air pollution.
Conclusion
Managing air travel may help to mitigate environmental pollution. The increase in the number of flights has caused noise pollution, leading to people who reside close to airports and below flight, paths developing hearing problems and other health complications. The burning of jet fuel results in the release of harmful compounds into the atmosphere, thereby causing air contamination. It is imperative to accept that limiting air travel is not a definitive solution to curbing pollution.
The different human activities, including road transport, are to blame for the current rate of environmental degradation. Technological development has enabled engineers to build airplane engines that produce less noise and emit a limited amount of carbon monoxide and other harmful gases. Nonetheless, they are yet to make an engine that satisfies the recommended decibels. Air and road transport complement each other, as people and cargo require using vehicles to get to the airport. These automobiles add to the problem of greenhouse gasses, hence there is a need to limit air travel. It is necessary to restrict air transport to long distances and shipment of delicate goods. People should be encouraged to use rail and road if traveling for short distances.
Reference List
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