The owner of Manchester, East Midlands and Stansted airports has announced five new pledges it hopes will support the aviation industry in becoming Net Zero by 2050.
Manchester Airports Group (MAG) has welcomed the launch of the government’s Jet Zero Strategy which was unveiled at the Farnborough Air Show.
It includes an interim target of Net Zero domestic flights by 2040, a new Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) mandate to ensure at least 10% of jet fuel is SAF by 2030 and a commitment to ensuring at least five SAF plants are under construction by 2025.
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MAG's five new Jet Zero pledges are:
- Jet Zero Education: MAG will develop new Jet Zero educational materials. At Manchester these will be delivered at its AeroZone educational facility, and on-site Airport Academy, to improve understanding of how aviation plans to reach net zero. The Group will supply these materials to other Jet Zero Council members and to schools in the areas around its three airports.
- Jet Zero Research: MAG will fund three PhD projects on air travel decarbonisation to support the work of the Jet Zero Council
- Jet Zero Technology: MAG will launch a new competition offering five years of free landing fees to the first zero-emission aircraft operating transatlantic flights from its airports.
- Jet Zero SAF : MAG will create a financial incentive as part of its charging arrangements to encourage airlines to go further than the UK Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) mandate on flights from its airports. Last year Manchester became the first UK airport to secure a direct pipeline of aviation fuel, when it signed a memorandum of understanding with Fulcrum BioEnergy Ltd
- Jet Zero Airspace: MAG is committed to delivering airspace modernisation at its airports at the earliest opportunity as a key lever of decarbonisation. Manchester Airport launched its Airspace Modernisation Programme in 2019 and continues to progress with it
In a statement MAG said Manchester Airport has been carbon neutral since 2016 and "is already making excellent progress with its pledges".
MAG CEO Charlie Cornish said: "Decarbonisation is one the most important issues facing our society and at MAG we are committed to playing a full role in the aviation industry achieving Net Zero.
"The publication of the Jet Zero Strategy is an important recognition by government of the commitments made by our industry for a more sustainable future.
"With the pledges we have announced today, we will be working even more closely with our industry partners and the UK government through the Jet Zero Council, to make real and measurable progress against the targets we have in place.
"MAG has always taken a proactive and ambitious approach to decarbonisation for over a decade, and I am proud of the work we have delivered over that time.
"Our landmark partnership with Fulcrum BioEnergy UK on SAF and the important progress we are making with airspace modernisation at our airports shows that we are committed to playing our part in achieving net zero by 2050."
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