12 November 2009

Dumping LCCs is not the green solution

Getting rid of low cost carriers would not significantly help the global emissions crisis, a BAA Stansted green expert told WTM on World Responsible Tourism Day.

The airport operator’s head of environment Dr Andy Jefferson told a seminar on airlines and the environment that the likes of Ryanair and Easyjet were highly efficient business models with very young fleets.

He said: "These planes are flying with high load factors and the average age of the fleet is very young. Their aircraft is less than five years old across the board. If you ask the question, should we be allowing these flights or should we send all their passengers onto the trains of Europe, then the answer is at the moment there is not the capacity to carry these LCC-destination bound people on trains."

He also added that the impact of stopping low-cost carriers flying to the destinations they serve would be hugely detrimental on the local economies.

Manchester Metropolitan University’s professor of sustainable aviation Dr Callum Thomas added: "My philosophy is that, having created a global society and lifted the lid off the box, you cannot put the lid back on. I want to enjoy travel and my kids to enjoy travel and the answer isn’t to go backwards. We just have to come up with a solution to the emissions issue."

By Dinah Hatch