Please see below links to key material.
Executive Summary
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Analysis of routes flown from UK airports reveals that electric aircraft in development today have the technical potential to cut 13% of UK aviation’s greenhouse gas emissions.
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Delivering this level of emissions reduction before 2050 would require regulation and major market intervention to accelerate product development and fleet turnover industry cycles.
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Engineering constraints mean larger gains are unlikely in this timeframe, and it is probably not possible for transatlantic-range battery powered craft to be economically viable.
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There are no electric aircraft currently in development which could compete with the majority of the current global civil aviation fleet on range or capacity.
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Emissions from UK domestic flights could be completely eradicated by electric aircraft by the 2030s with the right policy framework, with Highlands and Islands routes a priority.
Executive Summary
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Demand from foreign international leisure transfer passengers is booming at Heathrow; growth in demand amongst this group is far higher than for any other type of journey.
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Demand for international leisure travel at Heathrow and London’s other main airports continues to experience strong growth. Outbound tourism is the dominant feature of both the London and the UK air travel markets.
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London and the South East account for the majority of UK leisure passengers today, and will account for the majority of the growth in this traffic to 2050. Frequent flyers are also heavily concentrated in London and the South East.
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Demand for business flights at Heathrow is in sustained decline, leading a fall across all four London airports which is in turn part of a national trend of long term decline in demand.
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Domestic flights have plummeted at Heathrow and London’s other main airports. These flights should in any case be the target of policies to incentivise modal shift to less carbon intensive alternatives as part of meeting our commitments under the 2008 Climate Change Act.
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The claimed economic benefits of airport expansion do not factor in the negative effects of outbound tourism. In 2016, the UK’s tourism deficit was almost equal to the total direct contribution aviation makes to the UK economy, and policies aimed at increasing total air traffic are highly likely to lead to the sector becoming a net financial drain on the UK.
