The cost air travel is closely linked to the cost of jet fuel. With effects of the covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, air travel has become quite expensive because the cost of jet fuel skyrocketing. The cost of jet fuel has gone up by 48 percent in the last five months. For instance, in January this year, the cost of jet fuel was Kshs. 100 per litre but is currently going for Kshs. 148. This has pushed airlines to increase fares.

The environment has also paid a great cost for us to enjoy air travel. According to data from IATA, air transport as a whole represents 2 percent of global carbon emissions. The increasing cost of air transport coupled with environmental concerns means that a few changes need to made in the industry to make it more sustainable. To succeed such changes will require the coordinated efforts of the entire industry.

It because of said concern that, at the 77th IATA Annual General Meeting in Boston, USA, on 4^th October 2021, a resolution was passed by IATA member airlines committing them to achieving net-zero carbon emissions from their operations by 2050. This pledge brings air transport in line with the objectives of the Paris agreement to limit global warming to 1.5°C.

While flying aircraft with electric batteries or green fuel currently seems impossible, greater investment in research and development has been made to come up with alternative sources of energy such as green hydrogen which may well be the fuel that will power the future of clean aviation. 

Liquid hydrogen could potentially replace kerosene as jet fuel since it only emits water as a by product making it carbon-free. This would fall in line with the Fly Net Zero commitment of airlines to achieve net zero carbon by 2050.

The International Council on Clean Transport released a white paper on Performance Analysis of Evolutionary Hydrogen-Powered Aircraft earlier this year, assessing the potential use of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs), particularly liquid hydrogen (LH2), to decarbonize the aviation industry. It suggested that the introduction of LH2 aircraft into the global fleet, starting in 2035, could contribute to aviation’s 2050 climate goals. However, hydrogen-fuelled aircraft would likely have a shorter range than fossil fuel aircraft and a higher energy requirement per revenue-passenger-kilometer, with the potential to carry approximately 165 passengers up to 3,400 km.

The challenge with hydrogen is that it is a brand-new technology and will be costly to roll out.

Other alternatives that may be cheaper to roll out have been successfully tested. For instance, China’s leading oil producer Sinopec recently announced the country’s first successful trial production of bio-aviation kerosene which is produced from renewable resources such as waste cooking oil and animal and plant fat which, compared with traditional petroleum-based aviation fuel, can reduce carbon emissions by over 50 percent or more throughout an airplane’s service cycle.

Another mechanism which the industry has been using is Carbon Offset scheme which allow individuals and companies to invest in environmental projects around the world in order to balance out their own carbon footprints. However, this approach has been criticized as unhelpful and/or even counterproductive in the fight against climate change. If the aviation industry is successful in reducing carbon emissions with the help of SAF, it can only succeed at 80 percent. This therefore means that a blend of the mechanisms may be used to achieve near 100 percent reduction in emissions. The net effect is that cheaper and cleaner SAFs will mean a lot to consumers of air travel.