On Tuesday, March 31, 2026, our PhD candidate in Management, Umaal Ahmed Khan, gave a presentation titled “Fuel Efficiency Strategies and Technological Advancements in the Aviation Industry”.
The presentation outlines a systematic review of fuel efficiency challenges and technological solutions in the commercial aviation sector. The speaker highlighted that aviation currently accounts for 2.5% of global CO₂ emissions and argued that fuel representing 20–30% of airline operating costs makes the need for innovation both urgent and economically critical. Umaal discussed five interconnected challenge areas — technical, infrastructure, environmental, economic, and regulatory — and examined advancements across six domains including next-generation aircraft design, fleet modifications, weight reduction, operational strategies, air traffic management, and alternative fuel adoption such as Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) and hydrogen. The session concluded with a discussion of policy frameworks such as CORSIA and ReFuelEU, and the speaker argued that achieving net-zero aviation will require coordinated action across industry, government, and research institutions.
