Reviving supersonic passenger flights to harm environment, says study

Finding an efficient engine for supersonic jets is tough in an industry that has for decades been catering to subsonic planes

Reviving supersonic passenger flights will harm the environment as the jets will not likely be able to comply with existing fuel efficiency, pollution and noise standards for subsonic aircraft, according to a study released on Tuesday.

US based start-ups Aerion Supersonic, Boom Supersonic and Spike Aerospace are all aiming to revive ultra-fast flights by the mid-2020s by modifying existing engines rather than spending billions of dollars to make a new one to serve a market that has been dormant since Concorde stopped flying in 2003. Modified engines will burn five-to-seven times more fuel per passenger than subsonic jets, exceed global limits