Free Republic

For the second year in a row, the number of passengers on German domestic flights has declined, according to data from the German Airports Association (ADV), as reported by the news service Tagesschau on Saturday. The number of domestic passengers in 2019 fell by 1.9% from the year before to 47.1 million. In 2018, passenger figures fell by 0.8% Figures have dropped continually since August last year, the association said. The number of passengers on domestic flights in 2019 was just 1% greater than the figure from a decade ago. […] The ADV said the drop in passengers was not...

Planes could soon by flying in V-shape formations like migrating birds in a bid to save fuel and emissions. Airbus says flight technology is now mature enough to use the formation which would allow aircraft to effectively ride on the coattails of each other. The tactic is often seen in cycling, where racers “draft” behind leaders of the racing peloton, following in their slipstream. Within six months, two A350 planes will make a long-haul formation flight to prove the so-called “wake energy retrieval” can be accomplished, according to The Times. Then early in 2021, an airline will pair two jets,...

For years, Kim Cobb was the Indiana Jones of climate science. The Georgia Tech professor flew to the caves of Borneo to study ancient and current climate conditions. She jetted to a remote South Pacific island to see the effects of warming on coral. […] Now she is about to ground herself, and she is not alone. Some climate scientists and activists are limiting their flying, their consumption of meat and their overall carbon footprints to avoid adding to the global warming they study. Cobb will fly just once next year, to attend a massive international science meeting in Chile....

As the anti-flying movement known as “flight shaming” is gaining momentum across Europe, Switzerland is adding new train services to some of its international routes. The TGV company Lyria, which is owned jointly by the Swiss Federal Railways and France’s SNCF, is adding trains to its high-speed link between major Swiss cities and Paris. Beginning on December 15th, 30% more connections will be offered to the French capital from Geneva, Zürich, Lausanne and Basel. That means an increase from the currently available 13,500 seats daily to 18,000 by the end of 2020. The goal of the expanded service is to...