Transport systems: Air

Transportation by air takes place in airplanes, helicopters, and lighter-than-air aircraft, such as hot air balloons and airships. When it comes to moving people and goods, airplanes are by far the most popular method of air transportation. Helicopters are small, and can only fly for a few hours before needing to refuel. Hot air balloons can only travel at the speed of the wind. Airships require large amounts of helium gas, so they are very expensive to fly.

The airplane is really the only option for fast, affordable transportation across long distances. Roughly 100,000 flights take off and land every day all over the globe. Many of these planes carry passengers. The largest commercial airplanes, called jumbo jets, can carry anywhere from five hundred to eight hundred passengers at once. Some planes are built for carrying cargo.

Airplanes can’t carry as much as ships or trains, but they can travel much faster than both. This makes air transport a useful option for shipping things that can go bad quickly, like vaccines. For valuable goods, like jewelry, fast air transport means there’s less time for things to get lost or stolen. Did you know that countries control the portion of the atmosphere above their territory, even the air above their territorial waters? This is called the airspace, and it is where air transportation takes place.

Just like cars on the highway, airplanes have to follow safety rules when they fly in the airspace. But the airspace isn’t exactly like a highway. For starters, it extends over 10,000 metres into the air! And aircraft can’t stop, or pull over in the air the same way a car can on the road! The airspace around a busy airport, for example, has many planes arriving and departing at very high speeds and in all types of weather conditions.

That’s why it is important to monitor and control the airspace with strict rules and regulations to prevent accidents. Air traffic control is perhaps the most important system that makes air transport work. The air traffic control system guides aircraft, from takeoff to landing. This work is done by people on the ground, called air traffic controllers. They follow the location of aircraft using equipment that detects high-frequency radio waves, called radar.

They also communicate with pilots by radio. For example, if two aircraft fly too close to each other, air traffic controllers will give directions to both planes to modify their speed or altitude. Their work makes air transport safe and efficient! The air transport system crosses international borders more than any other form of transportation. This means it also requires more international cooperation than almost all other transportation systems.

Although individual countries control their own airspace, over 190 countries have joined together to agree on the same international standards for flying. The International Civil Aviation Organization is an agency of the United Nations. It is responsible for creating international standards of safety and efficiency. And it works to limit the harmful effects of air transport on the environment by setting guidelines for carbon dioxide emissions and air quality. Air transport is growing in popularity.

It’s estimated that in 10 years, the number of passenger and cargo flights per day will reach two hundred thousand. This will create jobs and increase international trade and tourism. But it will also be more important than ever to find ways to limit the harmful effects of air travel on the environment.