Bristol Airport has claimed that Somerset holidaymakers could reduce harmful emissions being pumped into the atmosphere this summer - by getting on a plane at the airpiort.
A new study claims car trips to airports in London by people travelling to and from the South West and South Wales contributed up to 157,000 tonnes of carbon emissions in 2018 - similar to the amount generated by charging 17.7 billion smartphones.
The analysis, by York Aviation for Bristol Airport, found that passengers could reduce their carbon footprint by flying from the nearest airport.
The study added that this would also make travel cheaper for people, reducing the cost by up to £50 per passenger.
Heathrow (43 per cent) attracts the most ‘leaked’ passengers from South West England and South Wales, followed by Gatwick (31 per cent), with the rest making even longer journeys to Stansted and Luton, according to the research.
It goes on to say that short-haul flights account for more passenger journeys and greater additional carbon costs than long-haul, suggesting higher frequency and more convenient flight times could be a factor in the choice of departure airport.
In fact, the study claims that the potential carbon savings which could be made if these passengers used Bristol is equal to the domestic carbon emissions of nearly HALF the population of North Somerset, in which the airport is located.
Dave Lees, chief executive officer at Bristol Airport, said: "With new destinations, more frequent flights and improved public transport we aim to persuade passengers to ditch the drive to London and fly local instead.
“Technology is driving performance improvements in the sky, with new aircraft like the A320neo generating 15 per cent fewer carbon emissions than its predecessor.
"Reducing distances travelled by passengers to and from the airport can have the same positive impact on the ground."
Bristol Airport is currently seeking permission to increase its capacity to handle 12 million passengers a year by the mid-2020s.
Environmental voices have disputed the findings of study, however.
Molly Scott Cato, the Green Member of European Parliament for the South West of England and Gibraltar, said: “This is spin from Bristol Airport and masks the fact that if we allow aviation to grow uncontrollably we will blow our entire carbon budget on flying.
"It is also an acknowledgement that flying encourages emissions at ground level too through more car journeys to and from airports.
"It is well acknowledged that airports are air pollution hotspots, be that Heathrow or Bristol.
“The truth is, faced with a climate emergency, growth in frequent flying - which the airport is seeking to encourage - is an environmental crime.
"Tackling climate change means staying grounded and enjoying a staycation to sample some of the many delights our beautiful South West region has to offer."
Local Green party councillors echoed Ms Scott Cato.
Carla Denyer, representative for Clifton Down, said: “The idea that local airport expansion could reduce overall carbon emissions is plain wrong for a number of reasons: emissions produced to reach airports like Heathrow by car (or especially train or bus) are lower than for the same distance by plane, flights from local airports often involve changes (which produce more emissions), and most importantly an expansion of Bristol Airport will not reduce flights from Heathrow (which is also expanding).
“Given the scale of the climate disaster we’re facing, it’s no surprise big polluters like Bristol Airport are throwing money at PR work to justify their plans for growth and the millions of extra passengers (and profits) that entails.
"But people aren’t stupid. At the end of the day it’s a fact that airport expansion always means more passengers, more flights – over 20,000 per year in this case – and more CO2 emissions.
"We can’t go on like this – airport expansion has to stop.”
Stephen Clarke, representative for Southville, added: "The main point is that this issue is a total distraction; we need to reduce the amount of carbon and other toxic pollutants in our air.
"That means no additional flights either from Bristol or Heathrow.
"The extra 23,600 extra flights a year from Bristol under the first stage of the planned expansion cannot be presented as some mad way of saving carbon!"
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