Airline cuts emissions to lowest rate

EASYJET has cut the carbon emissions of its flights to the lowest-ever rate, according to the airline.

The Luton-based carrier said it achieved the reduction through measures such as lighter seats, using only one engine while taxiing and giving pilots tablets instead of laptops and printed navigational charts.

Its emissions for the year ending September last year were 79.98g/ passenger km, down by 1.3% on the previous year and 31% lower than in 2000.

Pressure has been growing on the aviation industry to take action on greenhouse emissions from flights to curb temperature rises.

Latest figures for other airlines’ carbon emissions include British Airways’ parent company IAG with 93.7g/passenger km, Air France KLM with 85g and Lufthansa with 96.9g.

EasyJet’s head of carbon efficiency, Chris Foster, said: “We want to make sure we take our passengers where they want to go with the lowest carbon emissions. Through our efficiency programme, we continually look for ways to reduce fuel usage and emissions.

“We are very pleased to have delivered emissions below 80 grams for each passenger kilometre for the first time and look forward to reaching our target of 77 grams by 2020. By using modern aircraft and flying them efficiently, we will have successfully reduced the carbon impact of our flights by a third in 20 years, delivering a step change in the environmental impact of our flights.”

An international deal to curb greenhouse gas emissions from air travel was agreed in October last year.

The airline is also working with Wright Electric on designs for a commercial plane powered by electric batteries.