In the years preceding the COVID-19 pandemic, noise and emissions of European aviation have continued to grow, although at a slower rate than passenger kilometres. The average grams CO2 per passenger kilometre (gCO2/pkm) went down from 123 to 89 between 2005 and 2019, equivalent to an average 2.3% per annum fuel efficiency improvement over the period. However, it increased back to 122 gCO2/pkm in 2020 due to the drop in average load factors (
) .Accelerated improvements in aircraft technology, air traffic management and sustainable aviation fuels will be necessary to curb the increase in the sector’s environmental footprint if traffic resumes its growth at pre-pandemic rates.
