Estimations of Aircraft and Airport Domestic Greenhouse Gas Emissions from 2016-2021

Data and analyses are presented on the utilization of aircraft fuel in the U.S. and the resulting greenhouse gas emissions. Commercial passenger and freight flight data and airport fuel consumption usage from 2016-2021 are captured from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics website and the Sherlock Data Warehouse managed at NASA Ames Research Center. The resulting dataset is used to determine the miles flown by major aircraft. The corresponding aircraft fuel burn is estimated based on the International Civilian Aviation Organization fuel burn tables, and carbon dioxide emissions are calculated using a fuel-burn multiplicative factor. One conclusion of this analysis is that long-haul flights (flight distances > 2485 statute miles) create a disproportionately large amount of carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S, while short flights (< 311 statute miles) contribute less than five percent of the U.S. aviation-related carbon dioxide emissions. Although these short-haul flights may not have a large impact on overall carbon dioxide emissions, they will be valuable as demonstration missions for the next generation of electric, hybrid, and hydrogen-powered vehicles and their supporting energy infrastructures. This paper discusses recent trends in short-haul missions, their associated aircraft and airport types, and extracts several key requirements for future short-haul vehicles.