{rfName}
To

Indexed in

Altmetrics

Analysis of institutional authors

Cano, JavierCorresponding Author

Share

April 1, 2026
Publications
>
Article
No

Towards greener skies: Optimising taxi-out fuel for aviation emission reduction

Publicated to: EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF OPERATIONAL RESEARCH. 332 (2): 640-656 - 2026-07-16 332(2), DOI: 10.1016/j.ejor.2025.12.024

Authors:

de Alarcon, Ignacio Iscar Fernandez; Ayra, Eduardo Sanchez; Cano, Javier
[+]

Affiliations

Rey Juan Carlos Univ, Dept Comp Sci & Stat, Mostoles, Spain - Author
Univ Auckland, Dept Stat, Auckland, New Zealand - Author
Univ Politecn Madrid, Dept Aerosp Syst Air Transport & Airports, Madrid, Spain - Author
See more

Abstract

In the quest to mitigate the environmental impact of the aviation sector, we seek to optimise fuel consumption during taxi-out-aiming for reduced emissions and cost efficiency-while ensuring safety remains paramount. Partnering with an airline, we access a comprehensive aircraft taxiing database. Through data analysis and statistical inference, we establish suitable probability distributions for the key variables involved in the taxi-out phase. We then advocate for the systematic adoption of two operational strategies: streamlining the delay time for the second engine's start-up and suggesting revised taxi-out loads. Both procedures should be regarded as multi-objective optimisation problems, wherein we must assess not only their benefits but also their potential adverse consequences-whether in terms of safety or non-compliance with existing regulations-and strive to minimise them to the greatest possible extent. We conduct simulations of future operations at high-traffic airports to predict the advantages and viability of our fuel-saving measures and quantify associated uncertainties. Results show that significant savings could be achieved, outweighing the relatively low risk of non-compliance. Additional recommendations to airports and air traffic controllers could further mitigate these risks. We believe these protocols could be valuable decision-making tools for the airline, contributing to environmental preservation and operational efficiency. Rather than asserting absolute truths, our goal is to provide a technical basis for informed decision-making under standard conditions, while acknowledging that rigid rule-following may overlook key human factors and real-world deviations.
[+]

Keywords

Emission reductionModelMulti-objective optimisationOperationsOptimizationSimulationStatistical inferenceTaxi-out time

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF OPERATIONAL RESEARCH due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2026, it was in position 14/106, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Operations Research & Management Science.

[+]

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2026-04-15:

  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 3 (PlumX).
[+]

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: New Zealand.

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author () and Last Author (Cano Cancela, Javier Fernando).

the author responsible for correspondence tasks has been Cano Cancela, Javier Fernando.

[+]

Awards linked to the item

The authors greatly acknowledge the valuable support of the Safety Management System and Quality divisions at Iberia Airlines, particularly her manager Mar & Atilde;a Teresa Lumbreras Encinas. We are very grateful to the referees for the careful reading of the paper and for their comments and detailed suggestions which helped us to improve considerably the manuscript. Part of this research was carried out while the last author was visiting the University of Auckland, supported by a grant from URJC's postdoctoral program.
[+]