Joint Planning and Development Office - Environmental Benefits

Environmental Benefits

NextGen offers a new approach to managing the environmental impact of aviation. Several air traffic procedures currently in use provide more efficient aircraft trajectories that reduce the amount of fuel aircraft burn during flight. These directly reduce emissions and noise. Over the longer term, gains provided by satellite-based navigation systems will offer more efficient routes that reduce the amount of time aircraft spend in flight. Engine plant and aircraft design are other aspects of the work being undertaken by the JPDO partner agencies. For instance, NASA, through its research work on engine plant design is developing lighter and more efficient engines that will lead to a substantial reduction in the output of pollutants.