Subject: Aviation Industry Major Cause of Air & Noise Polltion
March 6, 2006
Posted to the web March 6, 2006
Tsitsi Matope
Harare
THE aviation industry is a major contributor to air and noise pollution,
a situation that has seen Zimbabwe's aviation industry battling to come
up with mechanisms to cut down on emissions.
Zimbabwe, like many other African countries, has in place environmental
legislation that addresses the problem of aviation pollution although
the process of quantifying emissions is still a mammoth task.
ALTHOUGH GIVEN A CHOICE MANY PEOPLE IN THE COUNTRY WOULD PREFER
TRAVELING BY AIR THAN ANY OTHER MODE OF TRANS****T, THE ADVANTAGES ARE
FAR OUTWEIGHED BY THE DAMAGE
PERPETRATED ONTO THE ENVIRONMENT
In interview yesterday, Air Zimbabwe acting chief executive officer,
Captain Oscar Madombwe said owing to the seriousness of the matter, some
European countries have banned some types of planes from landing in
their countries.
He said these types include the pure jet and Boeing 707 among others.
Capt Madombwe said Air Zimbabwe, like many other airlines across the
world, is responsible for air pollution through direct emissions into
the air by its crafts.
This, as a result, has caused serious consequences on ozone depletion
and subsequently climate changes.
"Aviation pollution is a major challenge in the airline business
worldwide but this is mainly due to how the planes are designed, an
aspect which has to be addressed by the air craft manufacturers if we
are to effectively deal with the matter," Capt Madombwe said. He said
aircraft are highly mechanised and the complication mainly lies on the
ways to get complete combustion of fuel, the length of the contrail the
plane leaves and the amount of noise it makes during take off and
landing.
"It is just like in the case of motor vehicles, one can help reduce the
level of emission but it is not possible to completely deal with the
issue of air pollution. We, however, comply with the strict requirements
of maintenance as stipulated by the manufacturer and in the case by
Boeing."
He said regular checks on aircraft is one of the simplest ways to
minimise the level of air pollution while some technologies that include
installing hush kits have helped deal with the problem of noise
pollution.
"We have certain 'noisy' types of aircraft such as the Boeing 737 and
707, which is not allowed to land in Europe but we use them in our
regional and domestic destinations," Capt Madombwe said. HE SAID
ALTHOUGH THE ASPECT OF NOISE POLLUTION IS IN ISSUE IN EUROPE, THERE IS
NO BIG FUSS OVER IT IN MOST AFRICAN COUNTRIES.
This is due to communities living near to Africa's air****ts' lack of
awareness on their rights regarding noise pollution. Secretary for
Environment and Tourism, Mrs Margaret Sangarwe said the country's
Environmental Management Act recognises the impact aviation pollution
has on communities particularly those that live near air****ts. She said
communities living close to air****ts bear the brunt of noise pollution
and risk having their health compromised. "ALTHOUGH WE HAVE THE
LEGISLATION IN PLACE, THERE IS NOTHING SIGNIFICANT ON AVIATION POLLUTION
INTERNATIONALLY IN TERMS OF HOW TO CURB IT AND HOW TO DEAL WITH
OFFENDERS. Studies are still being conducted at both international and
local levels on how to effectively address the problem," she said.
Mrs Sangarwe said quantifying emissions and measures to reduce it are a
major challenge although she said her Ministry is advocating systems
that would see them control pollution.
"We have the carbon tax system in the case of our vehicles although
motorists are not taxed according to how they emit. THE INTRODUCTION OF
AVIATION TAX WOULD SEE AIRLINES GETING INCENTIVES TO REPLACE AGING,
INEFFICIENT PLANES WITH CLEANER, QUIETER AND FUEL EFFICIENT ONES,"Mrs
Sangarwe said.
She said the increased damage to the ozone layer caused by air travels
have seen other countries advocating for higher air tickets and an
elimination of subsidies for jet fuel.
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