Dear MEL Topic Readers,
'World's first' fully-electric commercial
flight completed
Ever since the Wright Brothers invented the
airplane in 1903, there have been a countless number of flights made. It was January
1, 1914 when the first scheduled commercial flight carried passengers between
St. Petersburg and Tampa, Florida by a small propeller aircraft. Though it was
a short-lived service, it paved the way for today's aviation service industry. In
1952 the first jet aircraft began commercial service, carrying passengers from
London to Johannesburg, South Africa on the de Havilland DH 106 Comet, the
world's first commercial jet airliner. Today, nearly 40 million commercial
flights are performed globally a year, over 100,000 flights every day. They
make our travels easier, faster, and cheaper while emitting tons of CO2, the
most prevalent manmade greenhouse gas, as well as nitrogen oxides (NOx), which
contribute to the formation of ozone, another greenhouse gas. Emissions of NOx
at high altitudes result in greater concentrations of ozone than ground-level
emissions. CO2 emissions from all commercial operations in 2018 reached over 900
million metric tons, roughly 2.4% of global CO2 emissions from fossil fuel use
and growing fast. In fact, there has been a 32% increase in emissions over the last
five years.
Unlike automobiles on the ground, airplanes have
been nearly exempted from the use of greener alternative energy sources, such
as electric, hybrid, or fuel cells. Only the fuel efficiency has been
constantly improved for economic reasons.
Now, the first commercial flight by e-airplanes
are about to come into service in Canada. Though it is not a newly designed or
created aircraft, but a 62-year-old seaplane refitted with an electric motor.
It can carry six people for about 160 kilometers, enough distance for local
services. New technology on an old aircraft. Sounds even environmentally friendly.
Will Greta Thunberg agree to fly on this zero-emission
aircraft?
Enjoy reading the article about this new milestone
for the aviation industry.
https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/electric-commercial-aircraft-flight-scli-intl-scn/index.html
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