Potential benefits of great circle routes to reduce fuel consumption and aircraft emissions in mainland China

Potential benefits of great circle routes to reduce fuel consumption and aircraft emissions in mainland China | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Potential benefits of great circle routes to reduce fuel consumption and aircraft emissions in mainland China Dabin Xue, Shiwei Yu, Jie Li, Zhizhao Liu, Xiqun Chen, Changmin Jiang, and 7 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6538724/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Low-carbon aviation is crucial for mitigating climate change and reducing environmental impacts. This study investigates the potential environmental benefits of adopting great circle routes (GCRs) in mainland China's aviation industry, focusing on reductions in fuel consumption and aircraft emissions. Analysis of data from Chinese domestic flights between 2019 and 2023 shows that adopting GCRs could have reduced fuel consumption during the cruise phase from 96.8 Mt to 87.5 Mt, a decrease of 9.6%. Furthermore, by simulating future scenarios that consider air traffic growth, technological innovations, operational and infrastructure improvements, the adoption of sustainable aviation fuels, and offsetting investments, our results indicate that adopting GCRs in mainland China from 2025 to 2050 could reduce CO 2 emissions by 101.1 Mt (Low scenario), 175.8 Mt (Medium scenario), and 288.0 Mt (High scenario). More importantly, adopting GCRs in mainland China can be a significant strategy to change the spatial distribution and decrease emissions in densely trafficked hub airspaces. This study indicates that the Chinese aviation industry can find a new way to save fuel consumption economically and simultaneously reduce carbon emissions, aligning with sustainable development goals. The implications of the proposed study can be expanded worldwide to achieve a more sustainable aviation industry. Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences/Environmental impact Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files SupplementaryFigureS1S3.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6538724","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":451015764,"identity":"66c06715-cbaa-4808-8032-8286721a9407","order_by":0,"name":"Dabin Xue","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"The Hong Kong Polytechnic University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Dabin","middleName":"","lastName":"Xue","suffix":""},{"id":451015765,"identity":"b469bfce-6b3f-4fe2-b3fd-4fd13fe5820c","order_by":1,"name":"Shiwei Yu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"The Hong Kong University of Science and 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