The corona crisis is far from over. Although you can see a “light at the end of the tunnel” thanks to the vaccination, it will probably not be completely overcome for the aviation industry until 2023 or 2024, predicts Alexis von Hoensbroech, CEO of Austrian Airlines, in the “Chefsache” talk with eXXpress publisher Eva Schütz. Asia, for example, suffers from a low vaccination rate. In addition, many business areas are still subdued. Trade fairs and congresses are planned around three years in advance. In short: it may still take a while. The fact is: “Hardly any other industry has been hit as brutally by the pandemic as air travel.” The worst thing so far has been the jumble of rules: In every country, sometimes even in the federal state, different rules applied, and that made planning extremely complicated. But now there is a lot more flown again, with people booking extremely short-term, hardly long-term.
But in addition to the corona crisis, airlines like Austrian Airlines also have to cope with the climate crisis. Air traffic is currently under fire from climate protectors. Hoensbroech considers some demands to be counterproductive, especially those for a reduction in air traffic. It is ignored: The majority of humanity has never sat in an airplane, but that will soon change, thanks to the global growth in prosperity: “People in India, Africa and Latin America all want to fly at some point.” It is unrealistic that these people would then say: “Now I finally have the money to go on a vacation trip, but because you Americans and Europeans have polluted the atmosphere so much, I won’t either.” People will therefore fly even more in the future.
However, as Hoensbroech emphasizes, the aim is to reduce CO2 consumption in aviation – the global share is 2.5 percent. There is another solution for this. “In the future we don’t have to burn fossil fuels, but synthetic ones. That is technically possible. Then we can fly without a net CO2 outbreak. “
For the foreseeable future, every aircraft will burn kerosene. “That’s why the fuel has to become CO2-neutral.” Therefore, according to Alexis von Hoensbroech, synthetic fuels will become a very central element of the climate change.
The decisive factor is: “This form of energy conversion must also be marketable.” The problem: fossil fuel is cheaper. Since most of the flights are cross-border, without political action, those airlines would ultimately win the aviation competition that do not fly in a climate-friendly manner because they are cheaper. Hoensbroech emphasizes: “We are happy to switch to synthetic fuels, but there must be no distortion of competition.”
Watch the entire exciting interview today at 8:15 pm on “Chefsache” – the eXXpress business talk with editor Eva Schütz.
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