Is there an finish in sight to empty ‘ghost’ flights?

Is there an end in sight to empty 'ghost' flights?

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(CNN) — In the early days of the pandemic, when demand for air travel abruptly flatlined and international borders closed, “ghost flights” became a common phenomenon.

These were empty or near-empty planes traversing the skyline as airline schedules kept to their contractual obligations to fly. The problem is that, nearly two years on, they’re still haunting the skies above us.

In fact, more than 100,000 “ghost flights” will sail over European skies this winter, according to recent analysis from Greenpeace. The climate damage, claims the environmental group, is “equivalent to the yearly emissions of more than 1.4 million cars.”
The Greenpeace figures are extrapolated from a December interview with Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr in which he warned that Lufthansa Group was facing the prospect of 18,000 superfluous flights over the six-month winter season to retain its slots under European rules.

On the basis that Lufthansa’s air traffic accounts for 17% of the European market,…

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