ENVIRONMENTAL campaigners have reissued calls for the Scottish Government to take action against aviation emissions.
This comes after it was revealed yesterday that over 750 “ghost flights” arrived at Scottish airports in the first quarter of 2024.
Of those hundreds, dozens of empty or nearly empty planes arrived at Edinburgh Airport in particular, according to reports.
The so-called “ghost flights” are flown with little to no passengers or cargo, with the main purpose seemingly being just to reposition aircraft at the right airports.
After the revelation, the Green Party have called on Scottish Ministers to take more action to tackle aviation emissions.
The 750 flights flown in Scotland last year created sizeable emissions, dramatically contributing to global warming.
Whilst the exact figure is unknown
Speaking to The Scotsman Mark Ruskell, environment and transport spokesman for the Scottish Greens, said: “These figures are obscene.
“We urgently need to reduce the number of flights taking off and landing every day.
“It is even worse and even more wasteful when so many of these flights are completely empty.
“If we are remotely serious about tackling the climate emergency, then we need a major focus on cutting unnecessary flights.
“That means the Scottish and UK governments working together to finally introduce an extra tax on private jets and frequent flyers and using the revenues to boost clean, green transport.
“There is also an urgent need to look at landing slots, so that we can remove the obligation for airlines to fly empty aircraft in the first place.”
