Flying and the Environment..

Welcome to Flightmapping's pages about flying and the environment. We believe that we are the first UK flight-finder website to provide an information and discussion platform about issues relating to the environmental impacts of flying. We are putting this section up to encourage debate, and raise awareness about the topics concerned.

We hope that you will find these pages informative and challenging. We have no doubt that we will be accused of bias from aviation supporters and detractors - of course we have our opinions, some of them strongly held, but we also hope that we can clear up some of the myths and misunderstandings which regularly seem to be peddled from both sides of the fence.

We also think that comparisons between aviation and other methods of transport are very rarely done fairly - either by environmentalists who like to overstate the pollution caused by flying and understate the pollution caused by rail travel, or by airlines, who often overstate their apparent victimisation, especially at the hands of the European Union, and underplay the noise nuisance caused by planes. However, environmental factors are just one issue in the train versus plane argument, with passengers usually making a choice based on cost, convenience and standards of service. We will have a separate section for this topic.

Key issues include:

News Stories about Flying and the Environment

ELFAA hits out at long-haul exemption from EU Emissions Trading Scheme - (02/01/2007)
Aberdeen airport unveils expansion plans - (19/12/2006)
Report gives green light to airport expansion plans - (15/12/2006)
Airlines scrap carbon offset plans in protest over Brown's tax hike - (12/12/2006)
Aircraft parking bays could cut pollution - (06/12/2006)
Stansted expansion plans rejected - (30/11/2006)
UK runway capacity to run out within 15 years? - (18/11/2006)
Tories dismiss move against cheap flights - (01/11/2006)
Ryanair introduce online check-in - (27/10/2006)
Easyjet slam Oxford University Environment Report - (27/10/2006)
Report calls for control of aviation expansion - (21/10/2006)
Eurostar claims Environmental high ground over Cheap Flights - (09/10/2006)
The true environmental cost of flights v. taking the train - (02/10/2006)
Extremist environmental group wants all short-haul flights banned - (02/10/2006)
Airlines working together to produce Boeing 737 replacement - (15/09/2006)
Flybe criticise Birmingham runway proposals - (15/09/2006)
September Newsletter - (07/09/2006)
New environmentally friendly planes for Flybe - (06/09/2006)
Thomson promoting sustainable tourism - (06/09/2006)
Steven Norris defends flights tax proposals - (30/08/2006)
New environmental scheme for Liverpool airport - (29/08/2006)
Tory calls for £100 air passenger duty - (21/08/2006)
Ryanair say nothing will stop growth of no-frills airlines - (18/08/2006)
New tree planting website for airline passengers - (15/08/2006)
Flightmapping August Newsletter - (07/08/2006)
Committee Recommends Flights tax double whammy - (06/08/2006)
Michael O'Leary responds to bishop's comments - (25/07/2006)
Bishop of London calls cheap flights 'a sin' - (24/07/2006)

Other useful Environment travel websites

Tree Flights - Website giving airline passengers a chance to pay £10 to plant a tree each time they fly.
Great Green Travel - Travel portal devoted to environmentally concious destinations.
The Tourism and Environment Forum - Portal promoting sustainable tourism, as part of the Visit Scotland organisation