Sustainability In The Air Why airspace efficiency matters for immediate carbon savings
In this episode, we speak with Rachel Gardner-Poole, GAIN steering group chair and sustainable aviation consultant at NATS, the UK’s leading air traffic control provider.
Gardner-Poole shares how GAIN (Green Aviation Insights Network) is bringing together air navigation service providers from around the world to optimise flight paths and reduce emissions using tools and insights that can deliver results today. She discusses:
- GAIN’s dual purpose: A global collaboration of air navigation service providers (ANSPs) and a dashboard tool that measures airspace efficiency, enabling ANSPs to identify inefficiencies, benchmark performance by airline and route, and track CO2 emissions in real time.
- Why airspace efficiency matters now: Whilst SAF faces supply constraints and hydrogen aircraft remain years away, airspace optimisation can deliver immediate carbon savings.
- Breaking down communication barriers: How misaligned assumptions between airlines and air traffic controllers often lead to suboptimal flight paths, and how GAIN’s data visualisation enables targeted conversations to unlock tactical savings.
- The founding members’ impact: With five founding members helping shape the tool, GAIN could save over 450,000 tonnes of CO2 annually.
- Addressing greenwashing concerns: Unlike complex carbon credit schemes or predictive modelling, GAIN uses real, verifiable flight path data.
- Future expansion plans: The goal is to reach 40% of the world’s 160 ANSPs by 2030, with potential features including non-CO2 effects like contrails, and partnerships with organisations across the aviation sector.
If you LOVED this episode, you’ll also love the conversation we had with Sian Andrews, SESAR Environmental Lead at NATS, who shares how air traffic management can reduce aviation’s environmental impact. Check it out here.
Learn more about the innovators who are navigating the industry’s challenges to make sustainable aviation a reality, in our new book ‘Sustainability in the Air: Volume 2’. Click here to learn more.
Feel free to reach out via email to podcast@simpliflying.com. For more content on sustainable aviation, visit our website green.simpliflying.com and join the movement. It’s about time.
Links & More:
Green Aviation Insights (GAIN) - NATS
NATS environmental initiative GAIN-ing momentum - Aviation Week Network