IATA says shorten air routes to cut emissions - Reuters

[Eugene]

IATA says shorten air routes to cut emissions
13 Feb 2007 18:18:21 GMT
Source: Reuters

GENEVA, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Governments could do more to help airlines cut harmful
emissions by agreeing to shorten routes than by slapping "green taxes" on air travel,
the head of airlines body IATA said on Tuesday.

Europe, where several countries have put environmental levies on airline tickets, was
a particular problem because of its failure to establish a single air traffic control
system, said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA Director General.

Carriers argue that governments often refuse to open large parts of their air space
to commercial flights, forcing planes to stay in the air for longer than they need to.

"Every minute of flying time that we can save reduces fuel consumption by an average
of 62 litres and CO2 emissions by 160 kilogrammes," Bisignani told a civil air navigation
conference in Maastricht.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L13272485.htm

[Nihil]

1. Yeah, right ...

> Carriers argue that governments often refuse to open large parts of
> their air space to commercial flights, forcing planes to stay in the
> air for longer than they need to.

This is to minimise the noise pollution and other negative effects of
commercial flights. Tut tut, do taxes eat into your bonuses then?

Tax them - even if this means thinning them down - don't open the door wider.

[Eugene]

2. Not necessarily. Much of Europe's airspace is reserved for military use,

a by-product of the Cold War. Europe really does need
to reform its air traffic control system.