Airlines could be forced to cut passenger numbers in the future or only operate from airports with longer runways as warm air and slow winds caused by climate change make it harder for planes to take off

- Researchers examined six decades of data from 10 different Greek airports
- They found planes needed longer on average to take off than 30 years ago
- This is due to slower winds at ground level as well as warmer air conditions
- The team say these are more common as a result of a changing climate

Ryan Morrison | Daily Mail | 13 February 2020

Airlines could be forced to cut passenger numbers or only operate from airports with longer runways due to the impact of climate change, a new study finds.

Experts in science and engineering from Greece and the UK studied six decades of weather and aircraft data from 10 Greek airports.

The study, published in the journal Climate Change found that global warming was already having an effect on wind speed and air temperature.

Winds are getting slower and the air is warming up, conditions that make it harder for a plane to get off the ground and so cause it to need a longer runway.

The alternative to the longer runway is to reduce fuel which means they can't fly as far or to reduce passenger numbers, leading to lower profit margins.

Professor Paul Williams, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Reading and co-author on the study, said warm air and slow winds are becoming more common.

'Our study is the first to combine measurements of air temperatures and wind speeds to calculate the precise impact on take-offs.'

'Another possibility is extending runways to allow higher take-off speeds to be reached but this would mean covering these holiday paradises in more tarmac.'

'None of these are attractive solutions, but we may have to resort to them in future unless climate change is curbed.'

During the study of 10 different Greek airports, they examined headwind, surface conditions, temperature and runway slope.

The researchers looked at take-off conditions for two types of aircraft - the medium-sized passenger jet Airbus A320, and the smaller de Havilland DHC8-400.

The team calculated the take-off distance needed and the maximum possible take-off weight for both the planes.

They found the take-off distance required for the A320 increased by an average of 8.9 feet per year while for the DHC8-400 it was by 4.6 feet per year.

The maximum take-off weight for the A320 decreased by an average of 0.12 per cent per year since 1988, while for the DHC8-400, it was 0.02 per cent per year.

Both aircraft were also found to take a longer time to climb after take-off.

At one airport, the required take-off distance for the A320 increased by 323 feet between 1988 and 2017, the researchers said.

In another extreme case, at the relatively short 4,957ft runway at Chios Airport in Greece, the researchers found that the maximum take-off mass for the A320 was reduced by 8796lbs on average in the 30 years to 2017.

That is the equivalent weight of 38 passengers and their luggage having to be removed from the plane so it can take-off.

The research was carried out by the University of Reading along with Cranfield University, the University of West London and the Athena Research Centre in Greece.

Further insight into how climate change is affecting the airline industry could be revealed by repeating the study for other island holiday destinations, they said.

These include the Caribbean or Scottish islands, with the effects likely to be most significant at small airports with only one short runway.

Previous research by Professor Williams found that flights worldwide will be affected by increased clear air turbulence in future due to changes to wind shear at cruising altitudes under climate change.

It has been published int he journal Climate Change.