German Business Aviation Association and Interessengemeinschaft der regionalen Flugplätzen disagree with Annalena Baerbock.
Instead of continuing to call for bans, the Green Party should stand up for sustainable aviation. This is the reaction of the two interest groups German Business Aviation Association e.V. (GBAA) and Interessengemeinschaft der regionalen Flugplätzen e.V. (IDRF) to recent statements by the Green Party candidate for chancellor, Annalena Baerbock, on aviation issues.
In an interview, the leader of Bündnis 90/Die Grünen had commented on air traffic issues and, among other things, called for the taxation of kerosene. “Unfortunately, this interview showed that Ms. Baerbock is not quite up to date on this issue,” stresses IDRF Managing Director Thomas Mayer. Such a tax would not reduce emissions but lead to distortions of competition. That is why the legislator introduced the air traffic tax. Instead of constantly calling for bans, the potential and strengths of each mode of transport should be identified and promoted. This also applies to air transport, whose strength is its low landscape consumption. If a comprehensive life cycle assessment and an overall economic analysis were available for all transport carriers, it would be possible to compensate for deficits in the individual modes that could not be remedied.
“Germany must be and become a pioneer of sustainable aviation, not an obstacle,” says GBAA Managing Director Andreas Mundsinger, underlining the associations’ demands on politicians. This secures jobs, increases value creation and international competitiveness. The development of non-fossil fuels and new propulsion technologies plays a major role in this. Together, we should work on transformation strategies for ecological and socially acceptable aviation. This also includes “green airports” with CO2-neutral airport operations through the optimization of all processes and, for example, the use of free areas with photovoltaic systems. Decentralized aviation is also of considerable importance, he said, because it is necessary to maintain “connectivity in rural areas”. “Only with a rational transport policy can all the measures under consideration be implemented for a successful transformation,” the associations said.
