Let’s hope this air-brained scheme never takes off.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge announced a pie-in-the-sky plan to get the aviation industry to net zero carbon emissions by 2050 — by mandating longer flight times.
Air travel isn’t harsh punishment enough these days, apparently — witness the recent American Airlines flight was rerouted to its original Dallas airport after 5 hours, or the plane that flew right into a tropical storm just days ago — now we have all that and more to potentially look forward to, but at an even slower pace.
The “bold measure” would slow flight speeds by a whopping 15% — adding around 50 minutes of travel time to every single journey, The Independent reported.
The proposal would slash fuel burn by 5 to 7% and would reduce the 4% industry contribution to overall climate change, per the research, which is being presented to the United Nations.
By 2050, it could cut fuel reductions by half, the projections note.
The experts suggested that longer flights could be offset by more efficiently organized airports with fewer holdups — an idea sure to elicit eyerolls from travelers around the globe.
Earlier in the year, another set of wonks called rampant flight disruptions the “new normal” — thanks to changes from Covid and surging passenger numbers.
And, after manufacturer Boeing’s year from hell with plane parts repeatedly blowing off and detaching midflight, the research team suggests better-made planes could also aid airline customers.
To put these goals in place, Professor Rob Miller of Cambridge’s Whittle Laboratory said aviation as a whole is in need of a “whole systems process change.”
“The airlines can’t do them alone, nor can the manufacturers or the airports,” he told The Times of London.
But such an initiative may be a little too lofty at the current moment, he noted.
“It’s not that anyone doesn’t want to, it’s just that the complexity of the system makes it very hard to do.”
“Aviation stands at a pivotal moment, much like the automotive industry in the late 2000s,” he added.
Elon Musk’s Tesla delivered its first electric vehicles to consumers toward the end of that decade.
More than 16% of American vehicles were either electric or hybrid by the close of 2023, according to the Energy Information Administration.