War zones causing airlines to drive up carbon footprint

Airlines have burnt through 13% more jet fuel to avoid Russia and Ukraine's air space during the war in Europe, dealing a blow to air travel's efforts to cut its environmental footprint. Carbon emissions from flights from Asia to Europe were up by more than a sixth due to tit-for-tat airspace closures linked to the war, a study revealed on Wednesday. The impact dwarfed that of Middle East airspace closures linked to armed conflicts in Syria, Libya and Yemen. Russia's vast territory, spanning 11 time zones, is off limits to most US and European carriers under a ban imposed by the Kremlin in retaliation at western sanctions. Russian airspace is still used by domestic flights as well as some Middle East and Asian airlines. Russian aircraft are similarly banned from flying over UK and EU territory. Commercial flights over Ukraine have also been suspended since the February 2022 Russian invasion, forcing many flights to reroute. Insurers in London have held talks about getting air traffic back off the ground, but European regulators continue to advise against using Ukraine's airspace because of the risk of attacks and of civilian aircraft being mistaken for warplanes. Flight paths are designed to optimise fuel use but the detours due to political tensions put a “major obstacle” in the way of more efficient and environmentally friendly air travel, University of Reading meteorologists said. They said the extra journey time caused by the war in Ukraine amounted to about 1% of all flying emissions in 2023, as airlines took longer journeys south of Russia or over the Arctic.<br/>