Sustainability In The Air Why EASA believes its Flight Emissions Label is key to passenger trust in sustainable aviation
In this episode, we speak with Martina Di Palma and Achilleas Achilleos, Sustainable Aviation Officer and Strategic Programs Officer respectively at the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
They discuss:
- Why existing CO2 calculators fall short: How today’s flight emissions tools rely on estimates rather than actual fuel burn data.
- The regulatory foundation: How the Flight Emissions Label (FEL) sits within Article 14 of the RefuelEU Aviation regulation, and why EASA is confident the scheme is here to stay regardless of whether it becomes mandatory.
- The first-mover dilemma: Why some airlines pushed back against early adoption of the FEL, what the genuine commercial risks of being first are.
- SAF integration as an incentive mechanism: How the label discounts CO2 emissions based on SAF use, why this creates a direct reputational and financial incentive for airlines to increase SAF uptake, and how EASA is working with airlines including Air France KLM to optimise SAF accounting within the label.
- Label 2 and the road ahead: What the next phase of development could include, and why EASA has made its flight emissions calculator open-source in the hope that other regions will adopt a similar standard.
If you LOVED this episode, you’ll also love the conversation we had with Rachel Gardner-Poole from NATS, who shares how GAIN (Green Aviation Insights Network) is bringing together air navigation service providers from around the world to optimise flight paths and reduce emissions. Check it out here.
Learn more about the innovators who are navigating the industry’s challenges to make sustainable aviation a reality, in our new book ‘Sustainability in the Air: Volume 2’. Click here to learn more.
Feel free to reach out via email to podcast@simpliflying.com. For more content on sustainable aviation, visit our website green.simpliflying.com and join the movement. It’s about time.
EASA - European Union Aviation Safety Agency