Stakeholder Perceptions on Sustainability Challenges and Innovations in General Aviation

Michael Stiebe ()
Additional contact information
Michael Stiebe: Competence Center for Mobility, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU), Rösslimatte 48, 6002 Lucerne, Switzerland

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 23, 1-29

Abstract: While commercial aviation has received considerable social, political, and scholarly attention, general aviation (GA) has largely operated beneath the radar of sustainability discourse. GA grapples with a spectrum of sustainability challenges, encompassing the persistent use of leaded aviation gasoline, outdated technology, evolving demographics, escalating operational costs, noise pollution, adverse environmental perceptions, and public discontent. The sustainability transition in GA, akin to other transport sectors, is an intricate, sociotechnical process necessitating the integration of stakeholder and community perspectives. Existing literature primarily concentrates on technological aspects, offering a partial view of GA stakeholder viewpoints. This paper draws on quantitative methodology and conducts several statistical analyses, foremost ANOVA, t -tests, and regressions, of data from a 2022 online survey (N = 427) involving a diverse range of GA stakeholders. This study examines sustainability consciousness and perceptions within the GA community. The findings underscore shared sustainability concerns among GA stakeholders and illustrate how sociodemographic factors such as age, gender, income, and education exert varying degrees of influence on these perceptions. Additionally, a positive relationship emerges between non-aviation-related and aviation-related sustainability consciousness. Lastly, pilots with prior experience in electric aircraft display a more favorable view of electric aviation.

Keywords: sustainable aviation; general aviation; private aviation; pilot training; AVGAS; leaded fuel; electric aircraft; noise emissions; Pipistrel Velis Electro (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/23/16505/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/23/16505/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:23:p:16505-:d:1292935

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().