Will flying one day be as taboo as smoking is today, at least in most of Europe? Will it become socially unacceptable in the future to travel by air? Experts who see an unprecedented attack on air transport’s environmental footprint are posing these questions, challenging the industry’s growth for the first time in several decades. And growing numbers of people involved in the air transport industry are acknowledging they can no longer hope this issue will simply go away.
The industry has successfully reduced noise problems in the past, but now its greenhouse gas emissions are threatening its future. So while air transport growth has remained undefeated by terrorism, fuel price increases and many international crises since the first Gulf War, it faces potentially its toughest problem yet in the shape of a strengthening political momentum to restrict expansion of air traffic. The industry is increasingly turning to a combination of air traffic management solutions and new technologies, such as alternative fuels, as it bids to prove its green credentials.
