A new air conditioning technology developed in the UAE, could save international airports like Dubai’s at least $57 million a year, and airlines like Emirates $31 million annually, according to industry figures.

With the new technology, aircrafts on the ground can be cooled using electricity instead of fuel, said UAE-based ground support systems specialist Cavotec, which released the figures.

The estimates are based on the 130,000 planes landing at Dubai Airport terminals every year which, while on the ground, have to be cooled at a cost of $400 per hour using traditional kerosene-powered auxiliary power units (APUs).

The company believes its new eco-friendly air conditioning system pre-compressed air (PCA), can help revolutionise the regional aviation industry by producing huge savings on fuel and reducing air and noise pollution at airports.

The PCA system, which is being launched at the 'Dubai Airport Show' in June, is specifically designed to handle the extreme heat in the Middle East and will be the only technology capable of cooling the new Airbus A380.

The system cools planes through reversed compression and uses 400kw of electricity per hour compared with APUs, which use 600 litres of fuel per hour, equal to 6,000kwh of power.

Cavotec Group vice president, Michael Widegren said, 'With the rising price and environmental concern of gasoline, I would like to see jet fuel used to fly planes and not wasted on the ground.'

'We have the technology now to power ground support equipment with electricity and save on fuel that should be used in planes,' he pointed out.

Widegren will join a panel of speakers during 'The Airport Show’s' second annual 'Ground Handling' conference at airport expo to discuss ground support equipment and fleet management for future airports, as the Middle East’s booming aviation industry faces growing environmental concerns.

The conference will run on the third day of the Airport Show and is part of a series of specialised conferences that will cover important aspects of the airport industry, including Air Traffic Control, Aviation Security and Future Airports, all featuring high calibre speakers from aviation authorities and government organisations.

Research shows that 18 per cent of fuel is wasted each year through airport infrastructure and operational inefficiencies, amounting to 120 million tonnes of carbon dioxide worldwide.

Fuel inefficiency is exemplified at Frankfurt Airport, which uses 30 million litres of gasoline a year to transport jet fuel to the planes.

“The best way to reduce the amount of gasoline and its pollutant by-products is through ground support equipment, so it is absolutely necessary that the industry leaders in this field get together to discuss the options and solutions,” said Nick Webb, director of Streamline Marketing Group, organisers of the Airport Show.

“This is particularly pertinent in the Middle East, which is experiencing a massive aviation boom. The airports that are being built here are the airports of the future and as such should take the ever rising price of fuel and its effects into consideration,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service