LONDON: Flights from the United Kingdom to the United States could take longer due to the changes in the climate, according to a new study.
Global warming is likely to speed up the jet stream, say researchers, and slow down aeroplanes heading for the US.
While eastbound flights from the US will be quicker, roundtrip journeys will “significantly lengthen”.
The University of Reading scientists believe the changes will increase carbon emissions and fuel consumption and potentially raise ticket prices.
High altitude jet streams in the northern and southern hemisphere are the powerful winds that help move weather systems around the globe.
Air traffic normally tries to take advantage of these speedy flows of the Atlantic jet stream from west to east to reduce journey times on routes between Europe and North America. This is one of the world’s busiest routes with around 600 flights every day.
Previous studies have shown that climate change is likely to increase turbulence on these transatlantic flights. In this new study researchers modelled how atmospheric winds would change given a doubling of atmospheric CO2.
They fed the results into the same route algorithms that airlines routinely use to plan their transatlantic journeys.
