(MENAFN) The Guardian newspaper this week revealed that more than 35,000 commercial aircraft had operated in the United Kingdom practically empty since 2019, using information from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Additional 5,000 entirely empty passenger planes are claimed to have entered and left the nation during that time.
Ghost flights are frequently used by airlines to keep their reserved takeoff and landing slots at airports. Regulations from the European Union obliged airlines to fill 80 percent of their slots during regular hours.
The recommendation was discontinued at the height of the coronavirus outbreak, but it was later reinstated at a level of 50 percent. The European Commission stated in December of last year that the existing 50 percent criteria is going to be increased to 64 percent for the April through November flying season of this year.
Climate activists have voiced fury over the latest figures, called for a levy on jet fuel, and questioned plans for airport development.
The publication quoted Alethea Warrington from the climate charity Possible as claiming, “this shocking new data on ghost flights is yet another example of how the aviation industry cannot be trusted to get its emissions on track to tackle the climate crisis.”
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