Sustainable Aviation: How Pilot Training Can Support the Industry’s Decarbonization Goals

Aviation’s CO₂ Impact and Decarbonization Goals

As a cornerstone of the global economy, aviation has a significant environmental footprint. Commercial flights contribute roughly 2–3% of global carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, an impact that has grown as air travel expanded. 

International agencies and regulators have set clear targets: 

• the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) adopted a global goal of net-zero carbon emissions from international aviation by 2050, aligning with the Paris Agreement, and 
• Europe is implementing its “Fit for 55” plan aiming to cut emissions 55% by 2030 on the way to climate neutrality in 2050. 

Achieving these ambitious goals will require action on many fronts, including technological innovation, sustainable fuels, and crucially, the way pilots are trained and fly. 

In this article, we explore how sustainable aviation practices can be woven into pilot simulator training and real-world operations, empowering aspiring and active pilots to support the industry’s decarbonization objectives.

The Role of Pilot Training in Sustainable Aviation

Pilot training is a powerful lever for improving aviation’s environmental performance. By integrating eco-efficient flying techniques and fuel-smart procedures into training curricula, flight schools and airlines can cultivate habits that reduce fuel burn on every flight. 

For example, today’s pilot training programs increasingly emphasize the following. 

• Eco-efficient flying techniques: Trainees learn best practices such as flying at optimal altitudes and speeds, planning continuous descent approaches, and minimizing use of high-thrust settings or auxiliary power. Efficient operations and airspace use can significantly cut unnecessary fuel burn – in fact, Europe’s latest Air Traffic Management plan projects that more efficient flight operations could reduce CO₂ emissions per flight by about 9.3% as early as 2025. 
• Advanced fuel management: Instructors teach pilots to calculate fuel requirements precisely and avoid carrying excess fuel weight. New European fuel-planning regulations support this: in 2022, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) introduced performance-based fuel schemes (basic, variations, and individual) that let airlines safely carry less contingency fuel. This change means lower aircraft takeoff weights, directly translating to less fuel burned and fewer emissions. By training pilots in these schemes and fuel-monitoring tools, operators can improve efficiency without compromising safety. 
• Efficient Technologies: Airlines also are making training more adaptive through technology, including improved simulator scenarios to mimic flight conditions. 

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Together, these measures scale across fleets to deliver material fuel savings. The cumulative impact is substantial when multiplied across thousands of flights. At Simaero, in partnership with OpenAirlines, all our trainees have access to a dedicated e-learning module designed to reinforce these efficiency principles from the start of their training journey.

Aircraft Engine Efficiency and Pilot Behavior

Pilot behavior from power management to trajectory adherence, directly affects fuel consumption on every flight phase.

Training can instill fuel-conscious habits such as smooth thrust control and adhering to optimal climb and cruise profiles. Even small operational improvements yield measurable benefits. For example, avoiding unnecessary low-altitude level-offs by performing a continuous climb to cruising altitude can trim fuel usage by around 3% on long-haul flights. 

Moreover, according to 2025 Report of Ernst & Young, technological innovation has slashed fuel burn by nearly 80%.

In short, aircraft efficiency depends on pilot choices; training must teach the behaviors that realize engine and airframe gains. By following the optimized flight plan and cooperating with air traffic control for direct routes, pilots minimize extra miles flown. 

Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF): Targets and Pilot Training’s Role

For pilots, SAF feels and functions just like Jet A in day-to-day operations – it meets the same specifications; but using SAF can cut overall CO₂ emissions per gallon significantly because the carbon released was recently absorbed from the atmosphere by renewable biomass or other means.

Regulators are pushing aggressive SAF adoption to meet climate goals. In Europe, the new ReFuelEU Aviation regulation mandates a steady ramp-up in SAF blending: at least 2% SAF by 2025, rising to 70% SAF by 2050 for fuel uplift at EU airports. Other regions and ICAO have set similar aspirational targets for increasing SAF production and use. 

Meeting these goals will require not just fuel production changes but also buy-in and understanding from the end-users – including pilots.

Pilot training has an important supporting role in the SAF transition. First, training programs are beginning to educate pilots on what SAF is and how it benefits the climate, so they become advocates for its use. Pilots learn that, operationally, there is no negative impact when flying with a SAF blend as energy content and performance are nearly identical to regular jet fuel. This knowledge builds confidence in SAF among flight crews.

Secondly, pilots are trained in fuel management practices that complement SAF uptake. For example, new rules discourage “tankering” (carrying excess fuel to avoid refueling at a destination) because it causes unnecessary weight and emissions. EU regulations now include a 90% fuel uplift requirement to curb tankering, meaning pilots will load fuel more evenly rather than departing with heavy tanks. 

By understanding the rationale behind such policies, pilots can fully cooperate, ensuring SAF is used where available and not circumvented by old cost-saving habits. Lastly, as airlines begin to use SAF, pilot feedback and experience will be vital. Training can prepare pilots to report any observations on fuel performance, handling, or logistics issues, helping the industry refine SAF procedures and infrastructure.

Simulator Training and Online Learning: A Sustainability Advantage

Simulator-based training and digital learning are often seen as convenient and cost-effective, but they also offer a significant sustainability advantage. In fact, studies show that shifting more training hours into simulators can reduce training-related CO₂ emissions by up to 70% (accounting for the electricity used to power simulators).

Modern pilot training programs are leveraging this by increasing the use of high-fidelity simulators at all stages, from basic instrument flying to complex scenario training. In addition, simulator centers near hubs reduce trainee travel, further cutting the training carbon footprint. 

Additionally, online pilot training courses for ground school and theory have grown in popularity and acceptance. Regulators (including EASA) have in recent years updated rules to permit more remote and computer-based learning for pilots.

The Future of Sustainable Pilot Training

The coming decades will see an unprecedented need for new pilots and an imperative that they all train in a sustainable way from day one. 

Likewise, major training providers forecast a surge in demand for pilot training as air travel expands. This growth could easily increase aviation’s carbon footprint unless sustainability is fully integrated into pilot training programs going forward.

What might sustainable pilot training look like in the near future? 

Well, environmental topics will likely become a standard part of the training syllabus. Just as Crew Resource Management (CRM) and safety management are taught as essential competencies, we can expect carbon awareness and fuel efficiency knowledge to be included in pilot competency frameworks. Tomorrow’s pilots may receive dedicated instruction on topics like emissions reduction techniques, the science of contrails and non-CO₂ effects, and the use of emissions-tracking tools. 

By instilling this knowledge early, new pilots will enter airline service with a mindset geared toward minimizing environmental impact.

The scale of training infrastructure will also increase, and with it the need to keep operations green. We will see more simulator centers around the world (to meet the demand of hundreds of thousands of new pilots) and more online offerings. 

The need to integrate sustainability into training from now on is clear: every new pilot should graduate with not only the skills to fly safely, but also the habits and awareness of being ecological. 

This ensures that as aviation grows, it does so in a way that bends the emissions curve downward, rather than upward. In essence, the next generation of pilots will be expected to be both aviators and environmental stewards, helping airlines meet efficiency and emissions targets through their day-to-day actions.

How Simaero Supports Decarbonization Through Pilot Training

Achieving aviation’s decarbonization objectives will depend as much on execution as on innovation. Operational measures remain one of the few levers available at scale today, and pilot training sits at the center of that effort by translating engineered efficiency and SAF adoption into consistent, repeatable outcomes in daily operations. 

Simaero is aligning its training programmes with these priorities and, through its collaboration with OpenAirlines, is strengthening the link between training and operational performance so that efficiency improvements can be measured, sustained and progressively tightened over time.

Contact us at Simaero to find out more about how we support decarbonization in our pilot training programmes.