We wrote recently about how Europe’s biggest business leaders were putting their combined weight behind the EU’s proposed Green deal, however, there is one segment of the business fraternity that is not singing from the same hymn sheet, to say the least. That section would be the leading airlines in Europe, who have attacked plans to impose an EU-wide kerosene tax, believing that it’s not only unfair but also unnecessary. At the moment, aviation in the EU accounts for approximately 2% of man-made emissions, small in comparison to other industry, although double what it was in 1990.
One of the biggest critics of the proposals is Michael O’Leary, the Chief Executive Officer of Ryanair. O’Leary, speaking in his capacity as chairman of the Airlines for Europe lobby group, said higher duties would do ‘untold economic damage’ not just for airlines but also for those economies that are tourism-based. ‘We have to deliver growth in Europe in a sustainable manner’ O’Leary said, adding ‘Taxation will defeat that purpose. It takes the money away and we need to invest in new aircraft’. Some of the region’s biggest carriers (A4E) between them are spending USD188bn on new planes that on average burn 18% less fuel and carry 4% more passengers. Of course, a large portion of those planes purchased will be built by Airbus.
An area that would have a very positive return if implemented would be the Single European Sky (SES) project, which is estimated to alone cut emissions by 10%. As it stands state-owned monopolies control the skies above their own nations. With the skies over Europe being some of the most congested in the world, the entire network becomes disrupted if there is a problem with one air traffic management location (say the French going on strike .. again). The skies are further limited by matters such as land borders in the sky and designated areas for military use.
The SES suggestion aims to break this down and reforming the way air travel is managed over Europe, reducing both costs and unnecessary CO2. The idea is not a new one and has already proved to be very effective. In 2008 the UK-Ireland Functional Airspace Block (FAB) was set up, to remove both borders and duplication of effort between Ireland and the UK. In the first 4 years of operation, the FAB saved more than double the EUR12mln customer savings it was targeted to achieve.