Airport Operators Association Annual Conference 2023: The post-pandemic recovery, decarbonisation and disruption dominated forum in London last week. Ian Taylor reports
Continued from page 56
[and] will push up inflation, but is not rising as fast as inflation. Real wages are going down. Real household disposable income is worse than at any period since records began in 1948.” Public sector pay is even
worse, he added, with wage rises averaging 3% this year “after a period of falling further behind private sector pay”. Johnson noted: “A lot
of households are sitting on savings. But the cost of living is biting groups on lower incomes.” The Bank of England
raised interest rates to 4% last week and Johnson said: “The latest forecast is rates will peak at 4.5% [and] then flatten out around 3% for the medium term. That would be great for the economy, but the transformation will be difficult.” He added: “We’re in a
different position to most countries in the numbers of people not seeking work. We’ve lost about one million from the labour force due to early retirement and to people becoming sicker. It’s staggering what has happened to the health of the population. There has been a doubling of numbers claiming disability since 2021. There were 25% more deaths than normal this January.” Johnson also identified
severe pressure on government spending, noting: “Borrowing is at very high levels and debt is barely falling. The tax take, which has been 32%-34% of national income for decades, has gone up to 37%.” He forecast: “Taxes will
stay at a record level. I wouldn’t expect them to come down in my lifetime to the level they’ve been for 40 years.”
DfT seeks evidence ahead of second SAF consultation
Ian Taylor
The Department for Transport (DfT) has promised a call for evidence on aviation sustainability and a second consultation on sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs), repeating a government pledge “to scale up” SAF production amid industry criticism that the UK is falling behind the US and EU. DfT aviation director David
Silk told the Airport Operators Association (AOA) conference: “We’ll publish a second consultation on our SAF mandate [and] we’ll be publishing a call for evidence shortly. “We’re committed to having five
SAF plants by 2025, with a target of 10% SAF use by 2030, [and] we’re committed to scaling up production.” The government confirmed
introduction of a ‘SAF mandate’ requiring at least 10% of jet fuel be made from sustainable sources by 2030, with increasing proportions of SAF blended with fuel from 2025. However,
Decarbonisation ‘poses threat to regional airports’
The drive to decarbonise air travel will see fares rise and demand fall and could threaten the survival of regional airports without government support. That is according to European
airports association ACI Europe, whose director general Olivier Jankovic told the conference: “We analysed the EU Fit for 55 package and the impact on airport costs and
54 9 FEBRUARY 2023
The DfT wants 10% of jet fuel to be SAF by 2030
sustainability at British Airways parent IAG, insisted: “We can ramp up to 10% SAF use by 2030, but we need 300 SAF plants and £450 billion in capital. We’re in a global race. The US wants to corner the market in SAF. We need a price stability mechanism and policy support.” Heathrow chief executive John
it has yet to set out details amid aviation industry calls for a price support mechanism to drive investment. Silk insisted “we’ve shown leader-
ship on SAF” and made clear that addressing aviation’s climate impacts would need to extend beyond decar- bonising, telling airport operators: “We recognise non-CO2 impacts could have even more impact than CO2.” Studies suggest the non-CO2
impacts of flights, and of condensation trails in particular, could double the climate impact of flying. Jonathon Counsell, head of
demand. We see fares increasing by 17% and demand falling by 12%. But the impacts vary between airports. For big hub airports, it’s a reduction in demand of 8%-9%. Small airports may bear the full impact – demand could fall by 20%.” The EU Fit for 55 package
proposes a 55% reduction in EU- wide carbon emissions by 2030. Jankovic noted: “Regional
airports were already in a difficult financial position before Covid. If we don’t get support, regional airports will be in a difficult position.” IAG’s Jonathon Counsell
said: “We think the EU Fit for 55 is a strong package. We support
carbon pricing, the EU emissions trading scheme and the UK SAF mandate. But we estimate that by 2035 the industry will be paying four times for its emissions. We accept the industry has to pay for emissions, but not four times.”
travelweekly.co.uk
Holland-Kaye argued: “The question is not will aviation decarbonise but will the UK benefit from decarbonising? Are we going to produce SAF or import it? I used to think cost would be the barrier to decarbonising aviation. But now all countries have to decarbonise aviation. Banks see that as a fantastic opportunity. People see us as a leader and yet we’re falling behind.” He noted “20% of the world’s
SAF supply went through Heathrow last year” and insisted: “This is happening. Virgin Atlantic will fly to New York with 100% SAF this year.” But Holland-Kaye said rapid progress would require “stability in government policy and low risks for investors”.
Jonathon Counsell
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64
