Flying planes empty has long been used by airlines to preserve what is often their most valuable asset: permission to land at and take off from, high-demand airports such as London Heathrow.
In the industry, the practice is known as “keeping slots warm” – flying enough to adhere to the 80:20 rule that requires an airline to use a slot 80 per cent of the time. Any less, and the permit must be handed back.
Previous examples have included a British Mediterranean Airbus A320 shuttling between Heathrow and Cardiff after it ended a route to Tashkent in Uzbekistan, and Qantas running a chartered regional jet for a daily round-trip between Heathrow and Manchester.
More than 3,200 people have signed the petition, which begins: “End ‘ghost’ flights: reform historic rights to landing slots.
“Airlines have been flying planes empty to retain their landing slots. These ‘ghost’ flights are a shocking waste of resources and a needless source of emissions.
“At a time of climate emergency, we need to drastically reduce our fossil fuel use, and in the context of our steadily dwindling carbon budget, it beggars belief that planes fly empty.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der January 19, 2022-Ausgabe von The Independent.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der January 19, 2022-Ausgabe von The Independent.
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