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Home > Environment > Climate Change

Climate fears fail to curb air travel

By James Macintyre

Saturday, 15 December 2007

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Cate Gillon/Getty Images

Protesters outside the BAA office near Heathrow Airport, during a week-long 'Camp for Climate Action' in August

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Anti-aviation protests and increasing awareness of damage to the environment appear to have done nothing to curb air travel, according to figures showing a record number of flights around the world this year.

Some 29.6 million flights were scheduled in 2007 - an increase of 4.7 per cent from 2006 in the highest rise in air travel since 2004, the travel information company OAG said. Almost 81,000 planes took off worldwide every day in 2007.

Meanwhile, figures released yesterday confirmed Heathrow as Europe's busiest airport. In 2006, the airport handled more than 67 million passengers. Last year, UK airports handled 211 million passengers an increase of 4 per cent on 2005 and the highest figure in the EU. Low cost airlines, which represent 19 per cent of seats worldwide, are responsible for much of the overall rise in air travel.

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