Cardiff Airport boss defends Lapland trips
24.11.07
The boss at Cardiff Airport has countered claims that it is a climate change villain. He added that the information provided by Friends of the Earth is inaccurate - flying to Lapland and back equates to the carbon footprint of driving 3,000 miles in a Ford Focus - 5,500 miles less than claimed by a green campaign group.
Next month travel company Transun will offer excited children and parents the chance to fly from the airport to Arctic Finland for rides on husky, reindeer sleds and a meeting Santa in his log cabin. Friends of the Earth Cymru claim the 3,000-mile, seven-hour round trip to see a white Christmas accelerates global warming, meaning future generations may never actually see Wales celebrate a white one.
Gordon James, director of FoE Cymru, has warned that unless travellers radically alter the way we live to cut carbon emissions, before long there won’t be any snow in Lapland either.
He claimed an online calculator, at www.chooseclimate.org, suggests that the trip could emit about 680kg per person of carbon dioxide, which could equate to driving about 8,500 miles in a Ford Focus.
But Steve Hodgetts, head of strategy at Cardiff Airport, said the figure equates to 3,000 miles of driving, and that could easily be saved by families keen to carbon offset their journey. He added: 'We are part of the Sustainable Aviation lobby group, comprising airlines, airports and plane manufacturers, looking to make engines and travel routes more efficient. What we need is a balanced approach and some understanding about what the aviation industry contributes too.'
Add to: del.icio.us | Digg it | Newsvine | NowPublic | Reddit
To book cardiff airport hotels or cardiff airport parking at the lowest price, click on these links to two great cardiff airport parking and cardiff airport hotels price comparison pages.
