Emissions from high-altitude cruise overflights

Abstract We show environmental effects from high-altitude overflights (above 24,500 feet, FL245). Three test cases are presented: Northern England (up to 7,000 flights/week), Ireland (6,000 flights/week) and Eastern Alps (up to 18,000 flights/week). The technical literature addresses the overflight legal rights, but the current environmental pressure has added another dimension neglected by existing agreements. The environmental characteristics addressed are engine exhaust emissions and high-altitude noise. The simulation methods rely on land-based and space-based ADS-B databases, a suite of aircraft performance simulation codes, including exhaust emissions. Missing information, such as the origin-destination pairing, has been included in the simulation methods where available. Aircraft performance is assessed in terms of duration (tropospheric or stratospheric), vertical distribution, flight directions and a variety of other metrics, including breakdown by aircraft type. When the origin/destination are available, it is possible to establish alternative weight profiles and a trend in the traffic patterns. The results show minimal differences for long-range aircraft with methods that lack origin-destination. This difference becomes larger as the weight profile decreases, or the requested range is shorter. The simulation method is valid anywhere in the world where there are ADS-B data.