Green activists criticise easyJet for launching 12 new UK routes

EasyJet launched 12 new domestic UK flying routes on Thursday, a decision criticised by green campaigners as likely to increase greenhouse gas emissions. The airline said the routes, which will include Birmingham to Newquay for GBP22.99 – less than 200 miles – as well as Liverpool to Bournemouth at GBP22.99 and Manchester to Edinburgh at GBP30.00, as well as to Belfast and the Channel Islands, were in response to passenger demand following restrictions on travel during the Covid-19 pandemic. Some of the new routes were served by other airlines, including Stobart Air, which recently went bust. Most of them are viable by train, but rail operators charge far higher prices. The government is to make reductions in air passenger duty on domestic flights, which will make flying even cheaper compared with train journeys. The UK government’s stance is in sharp contrast with France, which is banning flights where a train journey is available that takes less than 2.5 hours. John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace UK, said the move showed that the government was not taking seriously its targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 68% by 2030, and 78% by 2035, which have been key commitments in the runup to the Cop26 UN climate talks in Glasgow this November.<br/>