With 414 votes in favour, 118 against and 93 abstentions, the European Parliament has adopted a resolution to encourage electric aviation, particularly for short and medium-haul flights.
According to MEPs, this could promote urban and regional air mobility, as well as a significant reduction in CO2 emissions and noise (see EUROPE 13255/11).
The report, which is designed to set out an approach on how to advance the deployment of zero-emission aircraft, calls on Member States to review existing flight bans in the light of the development of electric aviation.
Parliament calls on the Member States to explore market incentives and benefits for electric aircraft manufacturers and operators to promote the development and adoption of this eco-friendly technology.
It also invites the European Commission, in cooperation with the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), to select the European air routes that are most suitable for full electrification and that would deliver the greatest reductions in CO2 emissions.
It wants the Commission to create a policy framework to support the use of electric aircraft technologies and to develop a strategy to deploy the infrastructure needed for electric aviation.
“It is necessary to support the aviation sector in its decarbonisation, ‘zero emission’ fuels and aircraft have a role to play, but above all it is essential to encourage modal shift towards less polluting modes, in particular rail, over short and medium distances”, reacted Karima Delli (Greens/EFA, French), Chair of Parliament’s Committee on Transport (TRAN), in a press release.
Read the resolution: https://aeur.eu/f/aem (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)