Airline Flies Empty Planes to Keep Heathrow Slots

Mar 12th, 2007 | By Jared Blank

British Mediterranean Airways has been flying empty planes between Cardiff and Heathrow 6 times a week for 5 months so it doesn’t lose the landing slots allocated to it at the crowded airport. Environmentalists in Britain are quite upset because of the environmental impact of flying empty planes (carbon footprints have been a huge issue in Britain, especially when it comes to the airline industry).

The airline said that it has explored selling or leasing the slots but decided flying empty planes made the most sense.

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iahphx March 12th, 2007 9:55 am :
I didn’t find your link to work, but this one should.

http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/tm_headline=fury-at-wales-ghost–flights-&method=full&objectid=18740181&siteid=50082-name_page.html

This story is fascinating on several levels. First, on an anthropological level. The Brits (and Europeans in general) seem to have replaced their worship of Jesus with a worship of Mother Earth. Matters that have little to do “with the environment” are suddenly cast through an environmental prism. I wonder if Brits deciding on whether to go out for a beer now weigh the “carbon footprint” involved in getting to the pub. :

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