Member Article

Eastern Airways criticises Emissions Trading Scheme

British airline, Eastern Airways, has raised concerns over the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) implemented by Brussels earlier in 2012.

The airline, which has nine UK bases including sites in Bristol, Norwich and Humberside, has addressed the Government and Civil Aviation Authority in a letter that calls for action to rectify excessive costs connected with the scheme.

The ETS was criticised for projecting what Eastern Airways’ Chairman, Bryan Huxford, called “unbelievable” administration costs.

The scheme was introduced to cap pollution, which would be achieved by offering economic incentives for reducing harmful emissions.

The trading plan for emissions hopes to minimise the cost of reaching these goals, however the scheme has been criticised for going beyond environmental measures and creating price barriers for small airline carriers.

Mr Huxford commented: “The Emissions Trading Scheme … is good in theory but, for Europe’s smaller carriers, is a disaster in practice.

“I find it unbelievable that the scheme results in the cost of administration equalling or exceeding the cost of compliance for smaller airlines.”

The Chairman added that Eastern Airways is highly concerned with reducing emissions, and finding alternative fuels to power aeroplanes.

He continued: “Eastern Airways, together with every other European airline takes very seriously the need to minimise the impact of its flights on climate change, even though we already have an aircraft fleet that is extremely fuel efficient.

“However, the Emissions Trading Scheme for aviation, implemented by the European Community is far from being in the interests of Eastern Airways’ customers.”

Eastern Airways claimed the bureaucracy surrounding fuel usage is highly convoluted, so much that administration costs outweigh the price of carbon allowances the airline has to purchase.

Mr Huxford said there was “no sense” in pushing up prices for customers as a result of complex procedures that, in actuality, do not help to reduce carbon emissions.

Mike Ambrose, Director General of the European Regions Airline Association, said: “Forcing small airlines to adopt reporting procedures that demand a level of precision many dimensions different from the inexactness of climate change science is absurd.

“If the UK government fails to act to cut through this wasteful red tape, it will be passengers who will continue to fund this needless bureaucracy.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .