The EU will miss its 2030 aviation emissions target by almost 100m tonnes if it adopts a new industry-backed standard being rolled out next year, a transport campaigning group has claimed. The Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (Corsia) would allow airlines to offset emissions growth, rather than necessarily reduce it, according to a report prepared for Transport & Environment, a Brussels-based group for non-governmental organisations. T&E said Corsia had “substantial and ongoing failings” and only offered “cheap and ineffective” remedies for emissions, which contribute towards climate change. It also said Corsia would represent a “financial windfall for airlines”, saving them more than E3b a year compared with expanding an existing scheme. <br/>
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As airlines continue to shrink the size of their in-flight bathrooms, to make room for more seats in economy, making them all but unusable for tall and overweight passengers, more fliers may increasingly be seeking comfort in places they once avoided at all costs: airport restrooms. But now, increasing numbers of airports seem to have recognised that clean bathrooms are an important aspect of travel and have begun to take steps to improve both the conditions and the monitoring of their facilities. Seven airports around the country have invested in a new software system called TRAX SmartRestroom, which aims to keep bathrooms cleaner and helps move the lines to use stalls more efficiently, and several more airports will introduce the system before the end of the year. <br/>
A year after the #MeToo movement broke the taboo of speaking out about sexual harassment in the entertainment industry, airlines are the latest business sector to become engulfed in misconduct allegations. A survey due to be published Monday by Australia’s Transport Workers Union shows almost two-thirds of cabin crew say they have experienced sexual harassment. The harassment ranges from sexual assault to being touched inappropriately, or subjected to sexualised or degrading comments. Of the 65% of the flight attendants who reported being sexually harassed, 4 out of 5 said the abuse came from co-workers, and 60% said it was at the hands of passengers. The survey covered Australia’s main airlines, including Qantas Airways, Virgin Australia, Jetstar and Tiger Air. <br/>