EasyJet demands end of ‘hysterical persecution’ of airlines over environment

The boss of easyJet has called for a “balanced debate” on the environmental impact of flying.

Chief executive Andy Harrison, speaking on the release of a report for the European Low Fares Airline Association, demanded an end to the “hysterical persecution” of airlines by those seeking to place the blame for climate change solely at the door of aviation.

He said: “Calling for more taxes on air travel is sloppy thinking – in itself, this just puts more money into the pockets of governments and discriminates against the poorest in society who until recently were priced out of the sky. Crucially, and most importantly, it doesn’t benefit the environment.”

The report by economics consulting firm Frontier Economics claims to provide an objective assessment of the economic issues related to proposals to include aviation in the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme.

Harrison said: “Contrary to the views of many, aviation is not the environment’s biggest enemy – not today and not tomorrow. The report published today shows that aviation only accounts for only 4% of EU-15 CO2 emissions and will account for 5% of EU-25 CO2 emissions in 2030 – these numbers are based upon the European Commission’s own numbers.

“This shows that too much of the debate has been based upon inaccurate and one-sided information. The result is that some of Europe’s biggest offenders are getting off lightly.”

A statement said the carrier was a strong supporter of the principles behind the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme – but called for this to include the largest possible proportion of European flights. Applying ETS only to intra-European short-haul travel would only cover 20% of Europe’s flying – or 1% of total EU emissions; this would appear to be insufficient and would only represent “tokenism” on the part of the EU, the airline said. Much greater coverage could be obtained by including ex-EU flights in the scheme of classifying airports as the “installation”, rather than airlines, thereby ensuring that every take-off and landing is covered – regardless of the destination of the aircraft.

Harrison added: “We are calling for an end to the hysterical persecution of aviation by those that seek to wrongly blame airlines, particularly low-cost airlines, for climate change. Aviation has its part to play – and the report demonstrates that we are playing it – but those that contend it is ‘all the fault of airlines’ are wrong.

“Unlike many other industries, aviation is an enabler of economic growth – in other words, it ‘oils the wheels’ of Europe’s economy and, as such, any policy that undermines growth in this sector risks damaging the European economy as a whole. Some 3.1 million jobs and €221 billion of GDP in the EU-15 are dependent upon aviation. It is also a key driver for integration with the new Member States and growth under the EU’s Lisbon Agenda.

“Responsible airlines, like easyJet, are keen advocates of the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme, but argue that there should be joined-up thinking in all parts of the industry. For example, the report estimates that 50% of the opportunity for reducing the emissions from EU aviation lies with Europe’s famously inefficient patchwork of air traffic control systems – which is why easyJet also supports the EU’s ‘Single European Skies’ programmes.”

Claiming that easyJet was one of the world’s most environmentally-efficient airlines, Harrison added: “We are a responsible airline and take our environmental obligations seriously.

“We fly brand-new aircraft with some of the highest load-factors in the business. We fly point-to-point so don’t waste resources on unnecessary connecting flights and have always argued for bankrupt inefficient airlines to leave the sector and eliminate the unprofitable flying that is usually done on older, dirtier aircraft.”

Report by Phil Davies