Members of the European Parliament have voted in favour of proposals to extend the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) to include all flights departing from the European Economic Area, and to integrate the non-CO2 effects of aviation into the scheme. The parliament also agreed to adopt a new sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) pricing scheme intended to bridge the price gap between SAFs and conventional jet fuel. Under the new plan, airlines would be granted CO2 allowances equivalent to the amount of CO2 saved by using SAF. Allowances will be double for use of synthetic or renewable fuels of non-biological origin. Industry group Airlines for Europe (A4E) has welcomed the SAF allowance scheme, noting that it will reduce the total cost of the proposed ReFuel EU SAF blending mandate. "For it to be successful, the SAF allowances system should increase overall SAF uptake across Europe and incentivise airlines to go beyond blending mandates, in turn reducing more CO2 emissions from the sector," says A4E. "It would also strengthen local SAF production across Europe and help Europe better compete with the US tax credit scheme of $1.50-2 per gallon." The EU ETS currently covers all flights within the EEA. The 8 June vote would extend the scheme to apply to all flights departing from Europe. A4A has warned that this could lead to a "double burden" on carriers because they may have to pay for the same emissions twice, both through the ETS and ICAO's Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA). A4A is also critical of the European Parliament's decision to include obligations for aircraft operators on non-CO2 emissions, which include contrails. It says the decision is "premature" and argues that "further scientific and legal analyses are still needed on the exact impacts of non-CO2 emissions from aviation and how best to address them". The trade body says it is also "extremely concerned" about the parliament's decision to phase out airlines' free carbon allowances by 2025 instead of the previously-proposed 2027. The lobby group wants the free allowances to be phased out by 2030 instead. But Brussels-based Transport & Environment has welcomed the European Parliament's decisions on aviation. "Europe's lawmakers have sent a clear signal. The bulk of Europe's aviation emissions will no longer be ignored, marking a major step forward in tackling heavily polluting long-haul flights," states T&E aviation director Jo Ardenne. "It's now up to national governments to make this a reality." The European Parliament has yet to reach agreement on other elements of the EU's 'Fit for 55' programme, which aims to reduce the bloc's carbon emissions by 55% by 2030 compared with 1990 levels. This means that final negotiations between the parliament and the European Council are subject to a delay.

Wizz Air and Airbus are collaborating to explore the potential of operating hydrogen-powered aircraft. The two parties have signed a memorandum of understanding under which Wizz will identify both the operational and infrastructure opportunities and the challenges presented by the technology, says the airline. It expects the study to yield "a much deeper understanding of how operating a zero-emission hydrogen aircraft could positively impact the airline's future business model". A focus of research will be the impact of hydrogen aircraft on Wizz's fleet, network, scheduling, ground bases and airports, taking into account specific aircraft characteristics such as achievable range and refuelling time. Additionally, the airline and Airbus intend to study "evolution of the global hydrogen ecosystem from the perspectives of society, regulation, energy pricing and hydrogen infrastructure". Citing the airline's central objective "to make travel affordable for all", Wizz chief people and ESG officer Johan Eidhagen states: "We believe that growth and sustainability are not mutually exclusive, with leading-edge new technology paving the way to more sustainable air travel. This momentous agreement with Airbus will advance sustainable aviation across the globe through development of ultra-efficient operations and business models of the future." Wizz notes that its backlog with Airbus spans orders and purchase rights for more than 400 narrowbodies. Fleet data shows the airline has a total 154 Airbus narrowbodies – including six listed as being in storage – plus a single A330 Freighter that is operated on behalf of the Hungarian government. Airbus vice-president zero-emission aircraft Glenn Llewellyn says that collaboration with airlines is central to the airframer's planned development of a hydrogen-powered passenger aircraft for service entry in 2035. "Understanding airline fleet and network performance enables us to better define the architectural characteristics for a future ZEROe aircraft as well as the impact on airports, ground support and route network," he adds. The airframer is collaborating with a number of airlines and other partners for the programme, including Air New Zealand, Delta Air Lines, EasyJet and Korean Air.

The Hong Kong government has agreed to extend the drawdown period of a HK$7.8 billion ($1 billion) loan facility for Cathay Pacific by a further 12 months. The drawdown period of the facility is now valid until 8 June 2023, the Hong Kong-based carrier says. "Despite the difficult operational environment, we have not had to draw down the facility over the past 12 months," Chief executive officer Augustus Tang says. "The further extension of the drawdown period is greatly appreciated and will provide us with flexibility to manage our liquidity position." The bridge loan facility was provided to Cathay Pacific as part of the HK$39 billion recapitalisation announced on 9 June 2020 "to help the airline maintain its competitiveness and operations amid the industry-wide downturn due to Covid-19", it adds. The airline says its liquidity remains at a "healthy" level, at HK$30.3 billion as of the end of 2021, compared to HK$28.6 billion at the end of 2020. Following the recent adjustments to the government’s travel restrictions and quarantine requirements, Cathay says it is progressively adding back capacity and expects this to have a positive impact on its business. It also aims to reduce operating cash burn to less than HK$500 million per month for the next few months.