General News
Below are links to stories of general interest in relation to aviation and airports.
Aviation industry wants large scale government “incentives” to hugely ramp up SAF
The aviation industry only really has one way to cut its carbon emissions, without hugely cutting the number of passengers and flights. That is changing fuels, to allegedly "sustainable aviation fuel" (SAF). Those fuels can basically be produced from one sort of waste or another, or by using surplus renewably generated electricity (which is already in demand by other sectors). So what constitutes a genuine waste as feedstock, that is not competing with food or doing other environmental harm? Making fuel from domestic waste is hard. Taking crop and forestry wastes brings other environmental problems, such as the definition of waste being stretched too far. Then there is "used" cooking oil, and the problem that much of the oil is in fact virgin oil, that has been deviously branded as used. And there are animal fats and greases, such as beef tallow. Leaving aside the obscene concept of raising sentient animals, in poor conditions, to produce meat, then taking the fat from these sadly abused beings to burn in jet engines. There are many other markets and uses for animal fats, such as tallow. The industry, hell bent not only maintaining the current level of global flying, but increasing it, wants a range of government help and incentives to produce more SAF.
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Faroese salmon farming company buys own plane, to fly its fish to the US
The salmon farming industry is hugely environmentally damaging, due to the food fed to the fish, the spread of fish parasites like sea lice to wild salmon, the pollution of the sea under the salmon cages, and much more. But the industry makes money. Currently Scottish salmon is flown to Heathrow, and then flown around the world, eg. to the US. They also farm salmon in the Faroe Islands (the islands where they annually slaughter dolphins) and export this to the US. Now one company has bought its own Boeing 757 plane, in order to fly its fish direct to the US, avoiding Heathrow. It is claiming this reduces its carbon footprint ... Air freighting farmed fish just combines some of the worst sorts of environmental harm, to nature and to the irreversible breakdown of the global climate system. Fish is often flown around the world. The industry is keen to increase this air freight, in order to open new markets overseas, to sell ever more. As well as salmon, tuna and lobster is often flown across the globe rather than being frozen or super-chilled for transport by ship. Live Canadian lobsters are flown to Shanghai, Chilean salmon to New York, and Norwegian salmon to Japan.
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Small Spanish airline hopes to make Airlander airship flights in several years
Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV), a small Bedford-based company, announced on Wednesday it had signed a deal to provide a Spanish airline - Air Nostrum - with 10 of its 100-passenger Airlander 10 helium-filled airships. HAV claims the airships will produce less than 10% as much CO2 as conventional planes, and they might be flying by 2026. Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, said the commissioning of the Airlander showed that the UK was "at the forefront" of “revolutionary” greener aviation technology. There is plenty about British skills and British jobs. The airline, which currently operates flights for Iberia, did not state which routes it expected to operate the Airlander. HAV has previously said it expected to fly from Barcelona to Palma de Mallorca in four-and-a-half hours. The domestic routes mentioned could be travelled by train. The £25m Airlander 10 prototype undertook 6 test flights, some of which ended badly. It crashed in 2016 on its 2nd test flight, after a successful 30-minute maiden trip.
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Gatwick slightly reduces summer capacity due to problems with insufficient staff
Gatwick will reduce its summer capacity to ward off potential chaos, after there were dozens of last-minute cancellations for holidaymakers over the platinum jubilee and half-term holiday. It will limit the number of daily take-offs and landings to 850 in August – about 50 more than the average in early June, but more than 10% below its pre-pandemic maximum. EasyJet operates more than half of Gatwick slots, and will have to review its plans.The DfT and the CAA told the industry to ensure that flights on sale were “deliverable”, and called on airport chief executives to set up working groups with airlines and ground handlers to minimise the risk of summer disruption. A review by the airport found a number of companies would still have a severe lack of staff resources over summer, which would probably leadt o delays and cancellations. Schiphol, another large European base for easyJet, was expected to make a similar announcement, limiting total daily passenger numbers this summer. The airline sector got rid of thousands of staff due to Covid, many of whom have found preferable jobs elsewhere.
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New smaller Gatwick consultation, largely on road changes, before its 2023 DCO application
In autumn 2021 Gatwick held a consultation on its plans to use its northern, standby, runway as a full runway, for routine use for departing aircraft (not arriving) – alongside the main runway. The expansion plan means having to reposition the centre line of the standby runway, moving it 12 metres north. The 2021 consultation was not the Development Consent Order (DCO) application itself. Gatwick hopes to get consent to start the first stages of the runway process by 2023. It is now consulting again, (start 14th June - ends 27th July) on a few aspects of its plans, not the whole thing. This new consultation is largely about road changes, and Gatwick says some of the proposals have been amended, due to responses to the earlier consultation. Gatwick plans a significant redesign of the original plan for the North Terminal junction; the addition of a new lane westbound over the Brighton main rail line; and the addition of a third lane westbound to the A23 approaching Longbridge roundabout. There are also some proposals relating to car parking (slightly fewer than before); more hotel rooms than previously; and a new office block. Gatwick hopes the new runway could be operational by summer 2029.
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Bristol Airport expansion case highlights loopholes in national climate policy,
The Bristol the campaign group against the airport's expansion, BAAN, has successfully secured an appeal hearing at the High Court, this coming autumn, where a judge will consider whether a decision to allow the airport to expand was lawful. Lawyers bringing the case want to emphasise that the cumulative climate impact of many airport expansions across the country is not being considered properly. Currently the UK has no airports policy, and no proper policy on aviation carbon emissions. As well as this omission, planning law looks at the emissions from the airport activities on the ground, ignoring the CO2 emissions from the planes, and flights facilitated by an enlarged airport. Climate and carbon issues are set at a national level, enabling the Planning Inspectorate (PI) to ignore impact of specific airports. If BAAN is successful the airport's planning permission would no longer be valid. The PI would need to take the judge’s ruling into account when making the decision again and possibly re-run parts of last year’s inquiry. That would set a precedent.
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New study: Expanding the EU ETS to non-European flights would significantly reduce aviation CO2
A new analysis, commissioned by Carbon Market Watch and Transport & Environment (T&E), shows the expansion of the scope of the EU’s Emission Trading System (EU ETS) for aviation could bring several environmental and economic benefits without significantly increasing operating costs for airlines. The study showed that including flights to areas outside the EU would lead to significantly higher emission reductions, create more balanced pricing between low-cost carriers and legacy airlines and generate higher EU ETS revenues that can be used to decarbonise aviation, all with limited costs for airlines. Currently, only intra-European Economic Area (EEA) flights are included in the EU ETS proposal, but the study shows that expanding the scope to all departing flights, not only European, would result in 50% more emissions reductions. Including all departing and arriving flights could lead to reductions113% greater than the EEC’s proposal. The cost would be minor, compared to the total operating costs of airlines - some 3.4 to 5.5% more, or a maximum 6.8% more. This would be far more effective in limiting CO2 than the feeble international CORSIA scheme.
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Anglesey to Cardiff PSO route scrapped by Welsh government – with the money going to public transport
The Welsh Government has scrapped its North to South Wales funded, PSO funded, air service, between Anglesey and Cardiff, saying it will instead use the annual £2.9m public subsidy to improve integrated public transport. The route had been suspended since March 2020 and will not be re-started. The Welsh Government said pre-Covid some 77% of people using route did so for work, but that a shift to hybrid and home-working has cut demand. There is far less demand for business flying. Instead the money saved from running the service will be used to improve public transport in north Wales. This will benefit more people and help reach the Welsh net zero target by 2050. The decision follows an independent study commissioned by the Welsh Government into the carbon impact of the service on the environment. It said this shows the service had a more negative impact on the environment than any other form of travel between Anglesey and Cardiff. Often travel by rail was actually faster, door to door, than by plane.
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UK government in court over ‘unlawful’ and ‘irresponsible’ net zero climate strategy
Friends of the Earth, ClientEarth and the Good Law Project are going to the High Court (8th June) to challenge the government about its "net zero" strategy, which is both “irresponsible” and “unlawful”. The groups say the government’s plans are in breach of climate law as they omit vital details and “completely fail” to show how targets would be met. It is the first time the government has faced a legal challenge to its net zero strategy, which was formally published in October. The strategy outlines how the UK is supposed to emit no more carbon in 2050 than it did in 1990. It proposes various measures including the construction of more nuclear power stations, restoring peat, encouraging walking and cycling, hydrogen as fuel and CCS. But the strategy does not detail emissions reductions each proposed policy is meant to achieve. They argue this means it is unclear if the initiatives can deliver on the targets the government is legally required to meet under the Climate Change Act. So without the details, government progress, with the targets in Carbon Budgets, can not be checked adequately. There is nothing in policy or realistic targets for aviation carbon.
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Client Earth joining legal action against Dutch airline KLM for greenwashing
ClientEarth and 2 Dutch organisations are taking legal action against Dutch airline KLM, over misleading marketing that promotes the sustainability of flying. Instead of the only action that will actually cut aviation carbon emissions - fewer flights - the industry pretends that it can continue to grow, using novel technologies, mainly different fuels. KLM's marketing campaign attempts to convince consumers otherwise, giving a false impression of the sustainability of its flights and plans to address the climate harm of flying. The legal action focuses on KLM’s Fly Responsibly ad campaign and its offers for customers to buy carbon offset products to reduce the impact of their flight by funding reforestation projects or KLM’s purchase of biofuels. If KLM doesn’t comply with demands to cease greenwashing, the lawsuit will argue that its campaigns and carbon ‘compensation’ schemes are misleading its customers, and violate European consumer law. Instead of giving them real information about the carbon impact of a flight, KLM’s marketing undermines the urgent action needed to minimise climate damage, giving the impression that all is OK, and flying can continue - and be guilt free.