Vietnam Airlines to cut emissions, avoid EU ban

Vietnam Airlines said it is modernizing its fleet with new aircraft after it was named in a list of nearly 4,000 airlines that must reduce emissions of CO2 or will be banned in the EU

The national flag carrier said it is working with the authorities to create a plan for emission reduction, which would be submitted to the EU for consideration. Vietnam Airlines said it would sell back all ATR72-200 planes that have been in service since 1992 to European aircraft maker ATR. The old planes will be replaced by modern ATR72-500 planes. The airline also said it has ordered new aircraft from Boeing and Airbus, which feature low emissions of CO2. The list of airlines that must reduce their emissions was released in the Official Journal of the European Union on August 22. It includes some commercial airline giants like United Airlines, US Airways, Lufthansa, KLM, Alitalia and Emirates. The airlines on the list have been told they must cut their emissions by January 1, 2012 or they will be banned from all EU airports. Deutsche Welle reports that 3 percent of current EU CO2 emissions are from aircraft, and that the EU agreed to cut such emissions by 3 percent by 2012 and 5 percent by 2013.

< Prev		Next >