Climate scientists slam EasyJet for creating shortest mainland UK flight: ‘Pointless waste of carbon’

Climate scientists have slammed EasyJet for creating the shortest mainland UK link, describing it as a “pointless waste of carbon”. The airline has announced a new 250 mile flight from Birmingham to Edinburgh which will take around 70 minutes from gate to gate. The domestic connection will operate 13 times a week with flights launching March 29 2020. It aims to fly 500 passengers a day. However, climate scientists have criticised the decision amid concern about escalating emissions from UK airlines at a time when the country drastically needs to cut emissions. Aviation is one of the fastest growing sources of greenhouse gases, and UK airports are set to increase capacity by 59% by 2050. That’s more than double the increase accounted for in a report outlining the net-zero target by the Committee on Climate Change. <br/>