The CEOs of Europe¡¯s leading airlines have called for the implementation of the EU¡¯s Single European Sky (SES) air traffic initiative to help reduce carbon emissions from aviation.

The bosses of Lufthansa Group, IAG, easyJet and Ryanair told the Airlines for Europe (A4E) summit in Brussels that emissions could be cut by more than 10 per cent if Europe¡¯s air traffic control system was made more efficient by implementing SES.

The process of introducing SES across Europe has stalled in recent years, but the airline CEOs said this would make more difference in the short-term than the increased use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to power flights.

EasyJet¡¯s CEO Johan Lundgren said: ¡°This is one of the biggest things we can do in the short-term.¡±

Michael O¡¯Leary, CEO of Ryanair Holdings, added: ¡°Why not bring forward Single European Sky? Air traffic control reform would reduce fuel consumption by 10 to 15 per cent.

¡°We all support the use of SAF but in the next five to 10 years it¡¯s not going to account for a very significant part of our fuel consumption. You could achieve a 30 per cent reduction in emissions through ATC reform and investment in new aircraft.¡±

Carsten Spohr, CEO of Lufthansa Group, said that European countries could now be less willing to give up control of their airspace because of the war in Ukraine.

¡°I¡¯m afraid that because of Ukraine, the issue of protecting your own airspace will make it more difficult than easier [to implement SES],¡± added Spohr.

¡°Our view is that the fuel [SAF] can be scaled to a certain degree but not to what we need. It¡¯s a huge infrastructure project that no company can do alone.¡±

Lundgren agreed that governments needed to help the aviation industry to reduce emissions by investing in the production of sustainable fuel.

¡°We need to see from governments direct investment into capacities in order to make sure the supply is there to make a difference,¡± he added. ¡°The prices will then come together ¨C currently SAF is four times more expensive than kerosene.¡±

IAG¡¯s CEO Luis Gallego said: ¡°Airlines are doing everything to solve this situation but we don¡¯t have responsibility for Single European Sky.¡±