Mobility is essential, but also related to climate-damaging emissions. Flying causes greenhouse gases, which contribute to climate change. Global air traffic is responsible for about 3-5 % of man-made global warming. Passengers, who want to reduce their climate footprint, can already do so at Stuttgart Airport.
Careful planning
A good preparation of your journey can already make the difference. We’ve got four tips for passengers, who want to save CO2:
1. Less luggage = less weight = less jet fuel
Packing your bag climate-smart is simple: You only need to take less weight on your journey. The lighter the baggage in the cargo hold, the less kerosene the plane needs for its route.
2. Climate-friendly to the airport
Stuttgart Airport’s transportation hub offers one of the best connections via road, rail and air in Baden-Wuerttemberg. Bus, local train (S-Bahn), electric car or car sharing are environmentally-friendly options to get to the Airport.
Getting here by public transportation Getting here by electric car Getting here via car sharing
3. Grant yourself a longer holiday
Those who want to explore faraway places should – in relation to the distance – spend more time there. The environmental organization WWF recommends a stay of at least eight days for flight trips of up to 2,000 km (e.g. from Stuttgart to Crete) and a minimum of 15 days for more distant destinations. This way you don’t only travel more consciously, it is also more relaxing and you have more time to become familiar with other cultures.
4. Book a low impact accommodation
As a guest in a hotel, hostel or campsite with an environmental certificate, your stay typically consumes less resources than in conventional accommodations. It is best to look out for such labels before booking.
What’s the carbon footprint of your flight?
Your flight from Stuttgart to Crete for example creats 330 kilograms of CO2 – and the same again on the way back. A flight's carbon footprint depends primarily on the distance and the aircraft used. You can calculate and offset the emissions of your flight online. The price depends on your individual flight.
Offsetting explained:
Climate change is a global phenomenon. Therefore, it is possible to counterbalance carbon emissions that are created in one place by saving, permanently binding or storing the same amount of CO2 at another location. By offsetting you fund climate protection.
It's your choice
How offsetting with atmosfair works:
With your voluntary contribution atmosfair realizes climate protection projects worldwide. The carbon emissions of your trip are reduced at another location where they would otherwise have been created by fossil-fuel energy.
An example of an atmosfair project is the small hydroelectric power plant in Honduras, which provides clean electricity for its neighbourhood. It results in 36,000 tons less CO2 per year. In addition, the technology transfer promotes sustainable development in the region and fights poverty.
All projects by atmosfair meet the strictest quality standards available and are certified by independent bodies. atmosfair takes all climate impacts into account and includes them in the price of the offset. You will receive a donation receipt.
Visit atmosfair.de
How flying on Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) works:
With Fly on SAF you can replace fossil jet fuel with Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). It is a clean substitute for ordinary jet fuel and produced from sustainable resources like agricultural waste. Environmental benefits of SAF compared to fossil fuel are:
- Cutting carbon emissions by about 80 %.
- Cutting particle and Sulphur pollution by 90 respectively 100 %, which improves air quality.
- Decreasing fuel use by up to 3 %, which is millions of liters every year on a global scale.
Currently only 0.1 % of global jet fuel is SAF and it is more expensive than fossil fuel. By replacing fossil fuel with SAF for your next flight, you reduce your carbon impact and help accelerate the transition to more sustainable air travel for everyone.
Your contribution will be used to fuel SAF at an airport close to the production facility. This saves unnecessary carbon emissions and costs from transporting the fuel to your specific aircraft. You will receive a verified certificate proofing the impact you have made.
Visit FlyonSAF.comClimate effects of air travel
The ecological balance sheet of a flight includes more than CO2 and steam, which both result from burning kerosene. There are other climate-relevant effects: When it is moist and cold up in the sky (about -40 °C), condensation trails and cirrus clouds arise behind the plane. These usually disappear after a short time, yet they contribute to global warming. Just like ozone, which has similar effects as greenhouse gases, when it emerges at the usual cruising altitude.
Destination: Emission-free flights
Synthetic, electricity-based fuels and new engines promise to make a decisive contribution to climate-friendly flights. Climate protection in aviation is a joint task: aircraft manufacturers, airlines and airports are each driving technological progress in this direction.
Efficient engines
Modern aircraft are already much more fuel-efficient than older generations. Stuttgart Airport is setting standards nationwide with innovation funding. Since mid-2019, STR has been strengthening incentives for airlines to use lower-emission and quieter aircraft by means of its airport charges. Such aircraft such as the A320neo or the A321neo are being used more frequently at STR.
Sustainable Aviation Fuel
Sustainably produced kerosene is not just a pipe dream. It has already been successfully tested. Liquid fuel can be produced from renewable electricity using the so-called power-to-liquid process - but so far only small amounts are produced. Stuttgart Airport subsidizes the use of such fuels.
Electric flights
Stuttgart Airport is supporting work on electric aircraft by H2FLY, a spin-off of a collaboration between the University of Ulm and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), with research funding. Their innovative, completely emission-free Hy4 Hydrogen fuel cell aircraft celebrated its world premiere at STR in 2016. It can transport four people so far, but the developers are currently working on a fourty-seater with a permit to fly by 2025. The first e-passenger aircraft will be allowed to take off and land in Stuttgart free of charge for one year.
It will still take some time before these innovations are available at competitive prices. An industrial policy strategy is needed to create the necessary framework for non-fossil flights. This would have to ensuring for example that sufficient aviation fuel is sustainably produced.
Becoming A Net Zero airport
Stuttgart Airport can only make an indirect impact on the carbon footprint of air travel. We are active with technology support and strong incentives. We can however directly influence our own environmental impact. We take on the responsibility to continuously improve our carbon footprint with our Destination STRzero program. We work on operating the airport net greenhouse gas neutral by 2040.
More on Destination STRzero