Europe needs a ‘reality check' on net zero, says airline boss

Telegraph

7 hours ago

The former boss of one of Europe's biggest airlines has said the Continent needs a 'reality check' on environmental issues.
Pieter Elbers, who led Dutch carrier KLM for eight years, said Europe's obsession with green issues was hurting its airlines and holding back economies.
Mr Elbers, who now runs Indian airline IndiGo, said: 'In parts of Europe, and in the Netherlands certainly, a vocal minority is having a very significant influence on policies and direction.
'Aviation is seen as an easy target, when the challenges facing society are way too complicated to just single out one element.
'In Europe you'll see some reality checks kicking in. People need to have jobs and in order to spend money you need to earn money. If you want to spend money on health, education and all the things we collectively feel are important you need to generate income as well.
'And you need to have economic progress and prosperity to invest in sustainability. It doesn't come by itself.'
Mr Elbers, who spoke after IndiGo's first flight to Manchester, said he was relieved to be free of the political and bureaucratic meddling that European airlines are being subjected to in response to environmental campaigns.
Dutch curbs on aviation are the most stringent anywhere in the world, with the government implementing measures to actively slash flights from KLM's Amsterdam Schiphol base.
Schiphol must this year tighten a cap on flights from 500,000 to 478,000 while cutting night services by 15pc following a Dutch edict aimed at reducing the number of people exposed to aircraft noise.
KLM in December labelled the move to actively downgrade Schiphol as 'incomprehensible,' saying that limiting travel should not be seen as 'an end in itself' and that the move risked provoking retaliatory measures on the airline from other countries.
Schiphol was Western Europe's third-busiest airport in 2024 with 67m passengers, despite the Netherlands having no domestic flights, and has historically been regarded as one of the crown jewels of the Dutch economy.
Mr Elbers, 55, who left the Dutch division of Air France-KLM in 2022 after three decades, said the contrast in attitudes to aviation in Europe and Asia could not be clearer.
He said: 'In the three years I've been living, working and residing in India I have seen a government that is embracing aviation as a catalyst for economic and social progression.
'Being in a country where aviation is being embraced, the cheer and enthusiasm of people for joining in, and the enthusiasm for new airports, it's refreshing to see.'
Mr Elbers said India represented the 'last frontier' as the country seeks to expand its transport infrastructure to reflect the size of its population – at 1.4bn, the largest on the planet – following years of underinvestment, red tape and high taxation.
Mumbai and Delhi are both gaining second airports, while India is targeting the construction of 100km (62 miles) of highway every day and has commissioned nine high speed railway lines, most of them several times longer than High Speed 2.
The Dutchman said he does not see the crash last month of a Boeing 787 jet operated by IndiGo rival Air India, which killed at least 270 people, as likely to hold back his airline's expansion into international markets, and that bookings have not been affected.
He said: 'Over the decades of aviation we have worked to create a safe operating environment and we will continue to do that.
'When it comes to what caused it, everyone is just awaiting the outcome of the investigation. We should just remain calm and continue to operate safely.'
He said IndiGo has completed checks of its own 787s. Its jets use engines from Rolls-Royce, unlike the one that came down on take-off from Ahmedabad, which was powered by turbines from General Electric.