The aviation industry is set to launch a campaign it hopes will counter a ‘flight shaming’ movement that has weakened demand for air travel in Europe.
The industry’s image has been damaged this year by a growing movement led by activists including Greta Thunberg, who have called for greater action against climate change, including ditching air travel.
The International Air Transport Association, which represents nearly 300 airlines, will coordinate a campaign to explain to the public how the industry is attempting to reduce its environmental impact.
‘We will launch a very, very big campaign… to explain what we have done, what we are doing, and what we intend to do in the future,’ IATA’s head Alexandre de Juniac said.
The campaign will counter what de Juniac said has been ‘misleading information’.
IATA is coordinating the plan through the Air Transport Action Group, a coalition of industry organisations and companies.
De Juniac did not say when the campaign would launch but said it would be available to stakeholders across the industry including airports and airlines.
Flight shaming has dented demand in Europe, particularly in northern parts but also in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany.
‘It’s difficult to measure and beyond European borders we have seen nothing but it will come,’ de Juniac said.
Commercial flying accounts for around 2.5 per cent of global carbon emissions today, but without concrete steps to alleviate the problem, that number could rise as global air travel increases.
The aviation industry has already cut carbon emissions from each traveller in half since 1990, largely thanks to more fuel-efficient aircraft, and has a plan to cut net emissions by 2050 and achieve carbon-neutral growth from 2020…
