Primary Country (Mandatory)

United States

Other Country (Optional)

Set News Language for United States

Primary Language (Mandatory)
English
Other Language[s] (Optional)
No other language available

Set News Language for World

Primary Language (Mandatory)
English
Other Language(s) (Optional)

Set News Source for United States

Primary Source (Mandatory)
CNN
Other Source[s] (Optional)

Set News Source for World

Primary Source (Mandatory)
AajTak
Other Source(s) (Optional)
  • Countries
    • India
    • United States
    • Qatar
    • Germany
    • China
    • Canada
    • World
  • Categories
    • National
    • International
    • Business
    • Entertainment
    • Sports
    • Special
    • All Categories
  • Available Languages for United States
    • English
  • All Languages
    • English
    • Hindi
    • Arabic
    • German
    • Chinese
    • French
  • Sources
    • India
      • AajTak
      • NDTV India
      • The Hindu
      • India Today
      • Zee News
      • NDTV
      • BBC
      • The Wire
      • News18
      • News 24
      • The Quint
      • ABP News
      • Zee News
      • News 24
    • United States
      • CNN
      • Fox News
      • Al Jazeera
      • CBSN
      • NY Post
      • Voice of America
      • The New York Times
      • HuffPost
      • ABC News
      • Newsy
    • Qatar
      • Al Jazeera
      • Al Arab
      • The Peninsula
      • Gulf Times
      • Al Sharq
      • Qatar Tribune
      • Al Raya
      • Lusail
    • Germany
      • DW
      • ZDF
      • ProSieben
      • RTL
      • n-tv
      • Die Welt
      • Süddeutsche Zeitung
      • Frankfurter Rundschau
    • China
      • China Daily
      • BBC
      • The New York Times
      • Voice of America
      • Beijing Daily
      • The Epoch Times
      • Ta Kung Pao
      • Xinmin Evening News
    • Canada
      • CBC
      • Radio-Canada
      • CTV
      • TVA Nouvelles
      • Le Journal de Montréal
      • Global News
      • BNN Bloomberg
      • Métro
MoreBack to News Headlines
Explained | What are Europe’s ‘ghost flights’, and why are they a problem?

Explained | What are Europe’s ‘ghost flights’, and why are they a problem?

The Hindu
Wednesday, March 2, 2022 4:59 PM GMT

An EU regulation that dates back to 1993 requires European airlines to maintain empty or near-empty flights

With the decline in flights for business or pleasure due to the ongoing pandemic, airlines that are attempting to maintain market share are complaining about the ‘ghost flights’ they are being forced to fly.

An EU regulation that dates back to 1993 requires European airlines to maintain empty or near-empty flights just to retain their take-off and landing slots. This is done to avoid the slots from being handed over to other airlines that might be competitors or new market entrants. Usually, these airlines are required to use up to 80 per cent of their slots to secure them. Owing to the pandemic, this threshold was temporarily reduced to 50 per cent of booked flights but as soon as this winter ends in March 2022, it is set to once again increase to 64 per cent. Essentially, airline operators have to prove that they have adequate market demand that justifies their holdings. According to the European Commission’s website, this ‘use it or lose it’ system is employed “to ensure that airlines have access to the busiest EU airports on the basis of principles of neutrality, transparency and non-discrimination.”

Greenpeace, a global network of independent campaigning organisations that promote solutions to global environmental problems, analysed that there were over 100,000 pointless ‘ghost flights’ in Europe that are causing climate damage equivalent to emissions from 1.4 million cars.

It is a reported fact that the aviation sector accounts for a considerable amount of carbon emissions worldwide. An analysis shows that taking a long-haul flight generates more carbon emissions than the average person in dozens of countries produces in a whole year. According to Greenpeace’s analysis, ‘this number of flights causes climate damage equal to 2.1 million tonnes of CO2’ and other greenhouse gases. This damage is equivalent to emissions from 1.4 million average petrol or diesel cars in a year.

Apart from the Lufthansa Group, no other airline has communicated their number of ghost flights. The group estimated that they’ll be running around 18,000 empty flights alone, depending on their market share in Europe. By the same logic, the total number of ghost flights in Europe could be over 100,000.

Greenpeace has called on the European Commission and national governments to end the regulation that requires the maintenance of ghost flights and to ban short-haul flights where there is an alternative train route within six hours.

Read full story on The Hindu
Share this story on:-
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running GamePlay Run 3, the ultimate space tunnel running game with 300+ challenging levels!Adv.
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing GameTraffic Jam 3D is a game where you’ll be driving through heavy traffic.Adv.
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic GamePlay the classic 1984 light gun shooter game Duck Hunt on your browser.Adv.
More Related News
Meta hires two Apple AI researchers for Superintelligence push: Report

Meta has hired Apple AI researchers Mark Lee and Tom Gunter for its Superintelligence Labs team, Bloomberg News reported.

OpenAI’s advisory board calls for continued and strengthened nonprofit oversight

OpenAI has said it will turn its for-profit company into a public benefit corporation.

How is China leading the green energy sector?

China leads global green energy race with strategic planning, massive investments, and control over supply chain and technology.

Kenvue ties up with API to launch ‘Cough Clinics’ to train Drs 

Kenvue launches Cough Clinics with API to train doctors for effective cough diagnosis and treatment in India.

Visakhapatnam, Ranchi, Vijayawada, Nashik and Raipur emerge as career hubs in LinkedIn study

A list put out by LinkedIn highlights tier-2 and tier-3 growth pockets for professionals looking to relocate, tap into new industries or grow their careers locally

DLF forays into Mumbai with premium housing project 

DLF Ltd. enters Mumbai with premium residential project The Westpark in Andheri West, targeting businessmen, professionals, and film industry.

Zoho develops AI-powered large language model with speech recognition

Zoho unveils AI platforms including Zia LLM, Zia Agent Studio, and MCP server, emphasizing privacy and efficiency.

Axis Bank Q1 net profit slips 4% to ₹5,806 crore on higher provisions

Axis Bank's Q1 FY26 financial report shows a 4% decline in net profit, growth in NII, and impact on asset quality.

Supply PNG to households at a uniform rate, PNGRB tells CGD firms

PNGRB directs CGD entities to supply piped natural gas uniformly to domestic consumers, addressing pricing discrepancies and misuse concerns.

Wipro posts a 10% rise in Q1 net profit YoY; returned $1.3 billion to its shareholders over the last 6 months

Wipro's Q1 results show growth in net profit, revenue, and large deal bookings despite challenges in the IT services market.

Adani Group sells 20% stake in Adani Wilmar for ₹7,150 crore

Adani Group sells 20% stake in AWL Agri Business to Wilmar International for ₹7,150 crore.

Stock markets close lower on selling in IT stocks, fresh foreign fund outflows

Sensex and Nifty drop as IT shares sell off, investors cautious ahead of U.S.-India trade talks outcome.

Rupee falls 15 paise to close at 86.07 against U.S. dollar

Rupee weakens against the dollar due to trade uncertainties, equity market trends, and volatile oil prices.

Parking Slot | Free Parking GamePlay Parking Slot, the best online 3D car driving and parking game.Adv.
Slope Ball Run - Play OnlineSlope Game takes you on an exciting journey of a ball on special paths.Adv.
One-time gain propels RIL’s Q1 net to ₹30,783 cr., up 76.5%

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) reports strong Q1 results with 76.5% net profit growth, driven by Jio, retail, and O2C businesses.

SEBI may impose additional margin requirements in times of high volatility in electricity futures

SEBI to impose higher margins for electricity futures during volatility, aimed at reducing speculative activity in new market.

India needs to be careful, clever while negotiating trade pact with US: Raghuram Rajan

Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan advises India to negotiate US trade agreements carefully, especially in agriculture, amid global uncertainties.

Income Tax Department enables online utility for ITR-2 filing

File ITR-2 online for taxable capital gains income in FY 2024-25 with pre-filled data, deadline extended to September 15.

Rupee gives up gains, settles 4 paise lower at 86.16 against U.S. dollar

Rupee weakens against dollar due to fund outflows, oil prices, and equity market decline, but greenback weakness limits depreciation.

EU imposes sanctions on Rosneft's India refinery, lowers oil price cap

EU sanctions on Russia include new banking restrictions and lower oil price cap, impacting Russian crude oil exports to India.

A year after cyberattack, WazirX investors are waiting for legal woes to end 

A year ago, the WazirX cryptocurrency exchange was hacked; users are still waiting to access their locked up crypto.

Markets decline in early trade dragged by foreign fund outflows, selling in Axis Bank

Banking stocks cautious after Axis Bank's disappointing financial results, Sensex and Nifty drop, FIIs sell equities, global markets mixed.

Reliance Retail acquires Kelvinator

Reliance Retail Ventures acquires iconic Kelvinator brand to democratize aspirational living in India's premium home appliances market.

U.S. House sends bill regulating stablecoins to Trump

The stablecoin bill, passed on a 308-122 vote, sets initial guardrails and consumer protections for the cryptocurrency.

Amazon's AWS cloud computing unit cuts at least hundreds of jobs, sources say

Amazon cut at least hundreds of jobs in its Amazon Web Services cloud computing unit on Thursday, two sources said.

Rupee rises 6 paise to 86.06 against U.S. dollar in early trade

Rupee strengthens against US dollar on weaker greenback and lower crude oil prices, despite foreign fund outflows.

© 2008 - 2025 Webjosh  |  News Archive  |  Privacy Policy  |  Contact Us