Zero emission short-haul flying by mid-2030s ‘feasible’

Zero emission short-haul air travel is a realistic prospect by the mid to late 2030s, a panel of sustainable travel experts have agreed. easyJet’s sustainability director Jane Ashton said hydrogen and electric powered aircraft were both feasible within decades. “From a short-haul perspective, we have quite a degree of confidence that we will be able to start integrating hydrogen-powered aircraft from the mid to late 2030s onwards,” Ashton said. However, she stressed “lots needs to happen for that to take place” and that moving to hydrogen aircraft would be a “gradual transition, over 20 to 30 years”. “Not just manufacturing” of hydrogen aircraft was needed, she pointed out, but “production at scale of green hydrogen”. She said: “It’s something we’ve been working on for a long time and have a degree of confidence in.” But she made clear: “It’s definitely not the medium-term option for long-haul. Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAFs) will remain the realistic option for decades to come.” While cleaner than current jet fuel, SAFs are not emission free. The UK government is mandating their use as a proportion of aircraft fuel from 2025. On electric aircraft, Ashton said easyJet was “quite confident” it would be able to retrofit 100-seater aircraft “in the next couple of years” to begin testing. However, she pointed out these are “smaller than the aircraft we are flying now” but said “it’s still exciting”. Alistair Pritchard, Deloitte’s lead partner for transportation, said that research suggests these electric aircraft had a range of about 300 miles – about the distance between London and Dublin. “We do see electric as an option from a short-haul perspective,” he said. “But not for medium or long-haul.”<br/>