About: Aviation and airlines Archives

British-born pilot and environmentalist Jeremy Rowsell has made history this week by flying a light aircraft across Australia using a conventional fuel blended with fuel derived from plastic waste. EURACTIV's partner edie.net reports.

Industry interest in electric propulsion for aircraft is growing fast but the first hybrid-electric jetliner is “at least a decade away”, according to one aviation R&D executive.

The European Union is drafting an amendment to its aviation emissions trading system (ETS) after world nations reached agreement on a global scheme in October. A proposal will be presented in January, an EU official said, warning time is already running short to get the bill approved.

British transport is set for a significant low-carbon boost with several new Government consultations and funding schemed announced over the past few days in a bid to drive a green transport overhaul.

The 191 members of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) sealed a deal on Thursday (6 October) aimed at ensuring carbon neutral growth for the booming sector after 2020, calling into question the future of the EU's existing scheme to reduce airlines emissions.

Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc said she was “cautiously optimistic” about reaching an agreement to limit CO2 gases emitted by passenger jets starting in 2021, following meetings at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) conference in Montreal this week.

Forests have long been seen as a potential source of cheap and attractive offsets to compensate for the airline industry’s growing climate impact. However, there is one flaw. They don’t work, even by the ICAO’s own standards, writes Hannah Mowat.

The US and Boeing declared victory after the Word Trade Organisation concluded yesterday (22 September) that subsidies for aircraft maker Airbus were illegal. However, the US said it was "ready to negotiate" before slapping retaliatory duties.

It might sound counterintuitive for an industry – especially in the UK – to call for it to be regulated by the EU. Yet this is what British ground handlers are calling for, writes John Geddes.

A six-year delay, exemptions for poor nations, and a gradual phase-in system for participating countries are all being considered as part of talks to curb aviation pollution at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), MEPs discovered at a hearing in Parliament today (1 September).

US aircraft maker Boeing confirmed its commitment to the UK's aviation sector during the Farnborough Airshow. But in the long run, the uncertainty generated by the country's exit from the European Union will be hard for business, says its Vice-President, Randy Tinseth.

British aviation businesses, large and small, are split over the consequences of Brexit run. But they do agree that divorce negotiations between the UK and the EU need to be quick in order to avoid further uncertainty.

An agreement on curbing emissions from international flights will be reached at the ICAO general assembly this autumn, according to industry sources, while biofuels continue to struggle to emerge as a long-term solution for greening the sector.

Negotiations over the gridlocked EU air passenger rights regulation need to be put back on track despite the UK-Spanish standoff over Gibraltar – otherwise both airlines and passengers will suffer, warns Laurent Donceel in an interview with EURACTIV.com.

With several months delay, EU member states are expected to give the European Commission the green light next Tuesday (7 June) to start negotiations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar on comprehensive aviation agreements that will also cover alleged subsidies given to their airlines.

The Qatari Minister of Transport, Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti, will fly to Brussels on Tuesday (10 May) to reinvigorate talks on an aviation agreement with the European Union, which have been stalled for almost half a year.

Budget airline EasyJet's chief-exec Carolyn McCall told EURACTIV's partner WirtschaftsWoche why she's looking forward to fuel price increases and shared her thoughts on Brexit.

Brussels Airport reopened to a thin stream of passengers on Sunday, 12 days after suicide bombers destroyed its departure hall and killed 16 people.

Brussels airport said it would partially reopen for passenger flights on Friday evening after its closure following the March 22 bomb attacks, the company running the airport said.

European Union aviation security experts agreed on Thursday (31 March) that police and intelligence agencies should share more information with transport authorities and operators to help prevent attacks like last week's twin bombings at Brussels' Zaventem airport.

European countries must do a better job sharing information on the risk to civil aviation over conflict zones, said a report commissioned after the downing of MH17 over Ukraine and published Thursday (17 March).

French investigators probing the Germanwings plane crash called yesterday (13 March) for "clearer rules" on the lifting of medical confidentiality if pilots show signs of psychological problems.