Aviation Impact on Air Quality: Evidence from Countries with Highest Air Traffic

Abstract The current study aims to analyze the relationships between air transportation and carbon dioxide emissions employing the data from 20 countries in different geographical locations to discover the role of the aviation industry impacts on air quality. The analysis was performed by considering random effect (RE), fixed effect (FE) and ordinary least square (OLS) methods using panel data covering years from 1990–2014, to examine the effect of passenger and cargo transportation on environmental quality. Findings reveal that air transportation has a significantly positive effect on environmental degradation due to a rise in the consumption of fossil fuels, which contributes to an increase in the volume of carbon emissions. The result suggests focusing on new generation aircraft concepts and technologies under fuel strategy scenarios proposed by International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and International Air Transport Association (IATA). Entry to service new generation aircrafts enable use of biofuel with reduced fuel flow which is feasible in order to mitigate CO2 emission level. JEL classification: E10; L93; Q51.