The National Business Aviation Administration (NBAA) and the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) have denounced calls from a UK Labour politician to ban business jets from using UK airports from 2025.
Andy McDonald, the Labour Shadow Transport Secretary (the official opposition to the actual Transport Minister), was responding to a report published by Common Wealth, a left-wing think tank with a strong relationship with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, and A Free Ride, a campaign group that argues for a tax on frequent flyers.
According to the report, aircraft flights account for 2% of carbon emissions. Of that 2%, only 2% of emissions are from private jets.
McDonald posted on Twitter, saying that electric business jets will be in use by 2025, so fossil fuel aircraft should be banned from using UK airports. “The multi-millionaires & billionaires who travel by private jet are doing profound damage to the climate, and it’s the rest of us who’ll suffer the consequences. A phase-out date for the use of fossil fuel private jets is a sensible proposal,” McDonald said in a Tweet.
We replied to McDonald’s Tweet asking to talk further, but we have yet to receive a response.
The IBAC & NBAA reiterated that the business-jet industry is committed to reducing carbon emissions by 50% by 2050, noting emissions have already fallen by 40% over the course of the past 40 years.
“Business aviation has continually led the way in promoting products, procedures and policies to reduce aircraft emissions, with proven results,” said Ed Bolen, president and CEO, NBAA. “We urge leaders in the UK and elsewhere to set aside punitive proposals like this one, and work with us to build upon the significant progress made to date.”
In recent years there has been a push towards using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which can cut emissions by up to 80%.
Although the fuel is not yet widely available, business-aircraft manufacturers recently showed their aircrafts’ ability to use the fuel, by flying from their demonstration fleets of aircraft to Las Vegas, where the aircraft appeared in the NBAA’s static display. Earlier in the year several manufacturers flew their aircraft from Farnborough in the UK to Geneva using SAF.
Even though business aviation accounts for only a minuscule portion of transportation emissions, the industry is pressing ahead on SAF,” said Kurt Edwards, director-general, IBAC. “Instead of singling out business aviation for prohibitive restrictions on airport access, UK leaders should focus on efforts to make SAF more widely available in the UK through positive incentive policies to encourage production and use of SAF in greater quantities.”
During the UK election campaign, current Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been chartering a turboprop to visit as many parts of the country as possible.
The Labour Party has been using a bus.
