TY - JOUR
T1 - Beyond flight operations
T2 - Assessing the environmental impact of aircraft maintenance through life cycle assessment
AU - Rahn, Antonia
AU - Schuch, Melissa
AU - Wicke, Kai
AU - Sprecher, Benjamin
AU - Dransfeld, Clemens
AU - Wende, Gerko
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - As the aviation industry strives to minimise its environmental footprint, understanding the full life cycle impacts, including maintenance, becomes essential for sustainable development. This paper addresses the critical research gap in the environmental assessment of aircraft maintenance by conducting a comprehensive life cycle assessment based on an Airbus A320 aircraft. By combining a top-down check-level analysis and a detailed examination of the aircraft manufacturer's maintenance planning document, this study provides significant insights into the environmental implications of maintenance activities. The check-level analysis provides a general overview, while the analysis of the maintenance planning document delves into individual tasks, enabling the identification of components with the highest ecological impacts. This research emphasises the importance of including aircraft maintenance activities in life cycle assessment studies and provides valuable guidance for researchers, industry practitioners, and policy makers in prioritising sustainability measures and enhancing the environmental performance of aircraft throughout their life cycle.
AB - As the aviation industry strives to minimise its environmental footprint, understanding the full life cycle impacts, including maintenance, becomes essential for sustainable development. This paper addresses the critical research gap in the environmental assessment of aircraft maintenance by conducting a comprehensive life cycle assessment based on an Airbus A320 aircraft. By combining a top-down check-level analysis and a detailed examination of the aircraft manufacturer's maintenance planning document, this study provides significant insights into the environmental implications of maintenance activities. The check-level analysis provides a general overview, while the analysis of the maintenance planning document delves into individual tasks, enabling the identification of components with the highest ecological impacts. This research emphasises the importance of including aircraft maintenance activities in life cycle assessment studies and provides valuable guidance for researchers, industry practitioners, and policy makers in prioritising sustainability measures and enhancing the environmental performance of aircraft throughout their life cycle.
KW - Aircraft maintenance
KW - Aviation
KW - Life cycle assessment
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85191000547&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.142195
DO - 10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.142195
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85191000547
SN - 0959-6526
VL - 453
JO - Journal of Cleaner Production
JF - Journal of Cleaner Production
M1 - 142195
ER -