At the International Aerospace Exhibition (ILA), AZEA presented a report outlining an ambitious target by 2050: between 36 and 68% of flights within the EU could be carried out with new aircraft configurations.
The report predicts that up to 23.000 electric and hydrogen-powered aircraft could be delivered to European operators by 2050, reducing intra-European aviation emissions by up to 31%. Operating these aircraft in 2050 would require between 78 and 198 terawatt hours of electricity and 1,2 to 2,9 million tonnes of hydrogen per year.
Easyjet welcomes the report's findings as it is already heavily committed to the future use of hydrogen in short-haul flights to reduce CO2 emissions. Already in 2022, Easyjet published its “Net Zero” roadmap, which sets out a variety of measures to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, including fleet renewal and collaborations with industry leaders such as Airbus and Rolls-Royce.
Johan Lundgren, CEO of Easyjet, highlighted the importance of zero-emission technologies for the decarbonization of European aviation and called for joint efforts from industry, governments and regulators to realize this vision. He emphasized the opportunity to make European air transport more ecological and at the same time open up new markets and opportunities for future generations.