Calls grow to cut flights over climate fears

Aviation emissions in Ireland surged by 500 per cent since 1990, and now more than 95 international groups are demanding a halt to airport expansion and cuts to flights to curb the damage.

The coalition, which includes Friends of the Earth International, Scientist Rebellion and Ireland’s Children’s Rights Over Flights, recently launched a manifesto titled “A Red Line for Airports”, calling for a sharp reduction in aviation to halt climate collapse.

Signed by groups from 25 countries and coordinated by the Stay Grounded network, the document describes aviation as a core part of a “fossil-fuelled” system and a barrier to a sustainable future. It sets out ten measures to stop airport expansion and reduce air traffic.

The groups say the current jet fuel crisis, driven by geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruption and volatile fossil fuel markets, highlights the sector’s reliance on finite resources and its vulnerability to global shocks.

The manifesto includes ten “safety measures” such as stopping all new airport expansion projects, banning private jets and night flights, setting strict carbon caps on airports within national emission budgets and guaranteeing a just transition for workers.

The groups also say the only effective solution is to reduce flights, rejecting offsets and so called “sustainable” aviation fuels as greenwashing.

In Ireland, there are plans to expand the largest airports, including Dublin, Cork and Waterford.

Dublin Airport has been subject to a 32 million annual passenger cap since 2007, but this has been exceeded in recent years and enforcement has been legally challenged by airlines.

Campaigners say raising the cap to 40 million passengers, as applied for by the airport authority, would increase flight pollution by 22 per cent by 2031, with further rises beyond that.

The Government is preparing legislation that would allow the Minister for Transport to scrap the cap and prevent similar limits in future.

Draft provisions include text exempting the move from climate legislation, raising concerns among environmental and legal groups including Friends of the Earth, An Taisce and Opportunity Green.

At a recent hearing, Friends of the Earth’s Oisín McEvilly said: “The only reasonable interpretation [of seeking to exempt it] is that the Government is aware that removing the passenger cap is likely to be inconsistent with climate obligations.”

Celestine O’Reilly, a member of Children’s Rights Over Flights living in Dublin said, “We are told because Ireland is an island we must fly.

“We have always been an island; but since 1990 while our population has increased by 44%, emissions from flights have increased by 500%.”

Inês Teles, spokesperson from the Stay Grounded Network, said: “The jet fuel crisis shows what the ‘new normal’ looks like.

“In a world shaped by war, rising extremism and accelerating climate breakdown, dependence on fossil fuels means permanent instability.”

Peter Kalmus, climate scientist and subscriber to the manifesto, said: “The alarm has been sounding for decades, but we are still locked into a system addicted to fossil fuels.

“Aviation is one of the most unnecessary and unequal sectors: 80% of the world population has never flown, while 1% is responsible for 50% of emissions.”

The Stay Grounded network is inviting organisations and individuals worldwide to sign and endorse the manifesto, which remains open to civil society groups and members of the public.