General News
Below are links to stories of general interest in relation to aviation and airports.
Flying in Europe can be up to 30 times cheaper than train, says Greenpeace
Europe’s cheap flights and pricey train tickets promote high carbon forms of transport, campaigners say, with “outrageous” tax breaks encouraging people to emit more CO2 as they head on holiday. Train tickets are double the price of flights for the same routes, on average, according to an analysis from Greenpeace. They compared tickets on 112 routes on 9 different days, and found train travel was more expensive than flying, on average, on 79 of the 121 routes they studied. On many routes, there were individual days where the train was cheaper than the plane, even if the average cost was greater. Trains beat planes on eight or nine of the nine days tested on 23 of the routes. Half of these were deemed “great” for having regular and reliable connections, a good speed and tickets below €150. eg. Lisbon-Porto and Madrid-Barcelona, Berlin-Prague, Zurich-Vienna and Prague-Budapest. None of the best routes involved the UK, France, Spain or Italy. In Europe, airlines pay no taxes on kerosene and little tax on tickets or VAT. Their emissions are only priced for flights within Europe – at a level below the social cost of carbon. These are effectively subsidies for air travel.
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Grayling leads amendment to energy bill, to get more government funding for SAF
Rishi Sunak is under pressure from over 60 Tory MPs ito subsidise manufacturers of low-carbon aviation fuel in the UK to help the industry [allegedly] cut emissions. The MPs have signed an amendment to the government’s energy bill calling on ministers to introduce financial support to create a UK industry producing so-called "sustainable aviation fuels" (SAFs). The only possible hope the aviation industry has to cut its CO2 emissions in future, while growing as much as possible, is finding magical fuels that are considered low carbon. (Large hydrogen fuelled planes, or electric planes, are not realistic for decades, if ever). The amendment to the energy bill, tabled by former Conservative transport secretary Chris Grayling, calls on the government to step in to create a “price stability mechanism” to incentivise fuel companies to produce more SAFs. That is just what the sector wants. A subsidy from the public purse, for more flying. The government has pledged £165mn to encourage manufacturers to open at least five plants producing SAF, that they hope will start to be built by 2025. The extra subsidy would be even more.
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AEF’s Cait Hewitt: “I hope the era of aviation exceptionalism is over”
Cait Hewitt, Policy Direct or at the Aviation Environment Federation (AEF) talks about the problem of UK aviation's planned expansion, and the absence of any measures to make any real dents in its growing carbon emissions. Well worth reading. A few quotes: [on the current government's Jet Zero strategy that is built on highly “ambitious” assumptions of future technology, that does not yet exist.] Cait: “If you went to the doctor as a smoker, and said, ‘What shall I do?’ And the doctor said, ‘I think you should carry on with your 40-a-day habit, because I’m a very optimistic person, I believe in future there’s going to be some technology that will allow us to replace your lungs.’ Would you describe that person as ambitious or just completely reckless?” She acknowledges that people want to fly, but wishes that holidays were less about “an impressive sounding destination, and more about experience and adventure, and having time with your family. For children, you can do lots of fun stuff without having to travel that far.” She longs for is a sense of emergency and urgency to start to be demonstrated by politicians about the serious changes already becoming apparent from a warming planet.
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Scottish Greens: ‘Slap super rich with £1,000 tax every time they fly in a private jet’
People flying in private jets would be slapped with a £1000 tax every time they fly, to offset climate damage, under Scottish Green plans. The party said the “super tax” could be levied on any private flyer who lands in Scotland - with cash used to fund green policies like public transport schemes. Green climate spokesman Mark Ruskell said just 1% of people cause about 50% of all global flight CO2 emissions. He claimed a private jet super levy could raise some £75 million in revenues for the Scottish Government. Aviation is one of the few policy areas excluded from the SNP and Greens’ power-sharing deal at Holyrood. Now the party is challenging the SNP to use its devolved Air Departure Tax (ADT) to implement the measure. ADT could only be levied on departing flights. Hundreds of private jets land in, and take off from, Scotland every week. “This isn’t people having an annual family holiday to Spain - it’s luxury, often half-empty, and completely unnecessary private flights which are fuelling the burning of our planet... It’s time for us to say their private jets are not welcome in Scotland."
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Heathrow asks airlines to carry excess fuel despite carbon impact
Airlines flying to Heathrow have been told to carry as much fuel as possible in their tanks because of supply problems at the airport, between Sunday 23 July to Monday 31 July. Also to take off without too much fuel, loaded from Heathrow. For planes to fly to Heathrow with more fuel than necessary means they are heavier, and therefore burn more jet fuel. That increases CO2 emissions. Fuel tankering, ie. buying more fuel than needed at an airport where it is cheaper, should be discouraged due to the higher CO2 footprint. The airport declined to comment on the cause of the supply issue. It does not have day-to-day control over fuel supply, which is handled instead by Heathrow Hydrant Operating Company and Heathrow Airport Fuel Company, which are both owned by consortiums of oil companies. So large is the demand for fuel for Heathrow that it requires a constant supply transported via pipeline from ExxonMobil’s Fawley refinery near Southampton. ExxonMobil is also building a replacement pipeline to the airport.
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Around 10% of departing flights from the UK are private jets
One in ten departures from UK airports are now private jets, analysis of official data after the pandemic, by the climate charity Possible, has found. In the 10 years before Covid, private jets accounted for about 7.5% of all UK departures. That rose to over 20% at times during the pandemic, and it is now about 10%. On average the private planes carry 3 passengers. The emissions per passenger can be ten times those of the same trip in a commercial plane. In order to reduce the CO2 emissions from UK aviation, the number of private jet flights needs to be cut. Analysis of Air Passenger Duty (APD) data showed that about 20% of the smallest private jets paid no APD. A bit over 50% paid the same APD as premium economy passengers and around 25% paid the highest rate. Rather than largely being for business trips, most are now for leisure. The tax on these high carbon planes should be raised. Due to the tax on petrol and diesel, someone driving from London to Edinburgh could pay three times more tax than if they were flying by private jet. Currently private jets attract no VAT, no fuel duty and often only a low rate of APD.
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New NEF report indicates UK airport growth and air travel growth do not boost the economy
A new report, by Dr Alex Chapman of the New Economics Foundation, sets out the real environmental downsides of the growth in flight numbers. It shows that the the sector has no realistic way to cut its carbon emissions. And contrary to the apparent impression given by the industry and the UK government, the economic assumptions that underpin support for growth in air travel are dated and have not been reviewed for some years. Contrary to expectations, growth in business passenger numbers has effectively ceased and new passengers now derive exclusively from the leisure market. Though there are social benefits from flying on holidays or to visit friends and family, these may be largely for a minority - and the negative impacts are felt by far more. The airline sector is one of the poorest job creators in the economy per £ of revenue. Two decades of evidence confirms that air transport growth runs counter to the interests of the UK’s domestic tourism industry, as far more money is taken out of the country than brought into it. The net national effect is a large travel spending deficit which contributes to the UK’s overall current account deficit. There is an urgent need for new, comprehensive UK aviation policy, and assessment of impacts of its future growth.
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Dale Vince, Ecotricity founder, to launch UK’s first electric airline in 2024
The green energy tycoon Dale Vince is planning to launch an electric airline, "Ecojet", which he thinks is "a move designed to prove polluting industries can decarbonise." The hope is it will launch early in 2024, with a 19-seater plane travelling on a route between Edinburgh and Southampton (which could be done by train). The planes will run initially on kerosene-based fuel for the first year, before being retrofitted with engines that convert so-called green hydrogen into electricity. Vince said: “A lot of people seem to think that people who are eco-conscious want everyone to live a life of self-denial in a cave. Green living is not about giving things up – everything we like to have in this life can be done in a net zero life.” That, of course, depends on producing an immense amount of zero-carbon electricity without causing other environmental damage. Ecojet will at first have several 19-seater planes capable of travelling for 300 miles. Vince hopes to expand the number of routes out to cover all of Britain’s big cities. Then 18 months later, he hopes to have 70-seater planes capable of flying to Europe. The company is in the process of applying for a licence from the Civil Aviation Authority and securing takeoff and landing slots at airports.
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Heathrow, consultation on Noise Action Plan, called to act on noise disturbance
People around Heathrow are being asked to respond to a public consultation on how to limit noise disturbance coming from the Airport. Its Noise Action Plan 2024-28 is, in theory, trying to devise a strategy for how it aims to limit disturbance caused to those living nearby. The strategy is required by law, and the Airport administration is currently running a consultation on its proposals. It aims to develop a preferential night route trial for planes aimed at providing predictable periods of respite from night operations. It also proposes work on a Noise Insulation Scheme (NIS), which provides noise insulation for households and community buildings, with first beneficiaries set to be contacted this October. The West Windsor Residents Association (WWRA) which has concerns about the health impacts of the noise and sleep disturbance caused, which cause more illness, earlier death, reduced work performance, and impaired learning. WWRA councillor, Wisdom Da Costa, has encouraged people to report noise disturbances at night directly to Heathrow, which can be made using an online form, by email to noise@heathrow.com or by calling 0800 344844.
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London City airport expansion plans rejected by Newham – it will appeal to the GLA
London City airport is considering next steps after its local council, Newham, rejected its expansion plans. The airport wants to raise annual passenger numbers from 6.5 million to 9 million by extending the operating hours on Saturdays, until 6.30pm. There would also be 3 additional early morning flights on weekdays. Concerns were raised over increased noise pollution and emissions if extra flights were allowed. Flights are not allowed from 12.30pm Saturdays to 12.30pm Sundays to provide respite for nearby residents under a long-standing curfew. The airport says it needs more flights to cope with post-Covid passenger demand, with more destinations, especially on Saturdays. The council considers that the extra flights would “result in a materially new and substantial harm” through noise pollution. The application will now be referred to the Greater London Authority for a final decision. John Stewart, of HACAN East said "People value the weekend break from the noise. It was brought in because people live so close to the airport. Newham Council was right to reject the proposal to eat into it."