Heat waves mean air delays ahead
Warming trend could make it more difficult for planes to take off
As if air travel weren’t already stressful enough.
Just last month, American Airlines was forced to cancel dozens of flights from Phoenix when temperatures of nearly 120 degrees made it too hot for smaller jets to take off.
Now, a study finds such heatrelated flight disruptions will become more common in the next few decades as temperatures rise because of global warming. Blistering heat waves like the one that scorched the Southwest in June will make it harder for aircraft around the world to take off, according to the report, which will be published Thursday.
Extreme heat affects a plane’s ability to take off. Hot air is less dense than cold air, and the higher the temperature, the more speed a plane needs to lift off. A runway might not be long enough to allow a plane to achieve the extra speed for a safe takeoff. That means weight must be dumped, or the flight has to be delayed or canceled.
By the end of this century, heat waves are forecast to become more commonplace, with temperatures at airports around the globe predicted to soar anywhere from 7.2 to 14.4 degrees above today’s levels by 2080, according to the study. Intense heat waves would cause
the most problems.
“This points to the unexplored risks of changing climate on aviation,” said study co-author Radley Horton, a climatologist at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.
Tom Nolan, executive director of the Palm Springs International Airport, said the airport operates routinely in high heat. Temperatures in Palm Springs have reached 122 degrees four times this summer, and only a handful of flights have been delayed because of heat.
Nolan said he expects aviation technology to advance quickly in coming decades, outpacing increases in ground temperatures.
“The changes in engine technology — meaning more efficiency, more horsepower, less fuel consumption; the design of the fuselage and the wings, creating more efficiency with less energy; the use of composites in aircraft making them lighter — that in itself has advanced so quickly that even two decades from now, you’ll see dramatic advancements in how aircraft works,” Nolan said. “Technology has got the upper hand.”
The study appeared in the journal Climatic Change.