Climate groups are launching legal action against KLM over advertising that activists claim "greenwashes" the Dutch airline's environmental impact. As part of parent group Air France-KLM's annual general meeting, held on 24 May, a member of climate action group Fossielvrij Netherlands spoke out to highlight KLM's 'Fly Responsibly' advertising campaign, under which the airline says it recognises "the urgent need to limit global warming and thus have committed to the targets defined in the Paris Climate Agreement" and that its actions contribute to a "more sustainable tomorrow." "In your marketing you tell us that if we fly with KLM we help create a more sustainable future... You and I both know we need to rapidly reduce emissions or there won't be a liveable future for any of us," said the activist, adding that KLM's proposed solutions "won't make flying sustainable". "After this meeting, I would like to hand over this envelope to you personally. It contains a legal letter from the movement I am part of, Fossielvrij Netherlands, together with lawyers from ClientEarth, demanding that KLM stops its misleading ads. And if you won't stop, we will see you in court." KLM chief executive Pieter Elbers replied that the airline was a leading carrier when it came to reducing its emissions, including through the use of sustainable aviation fuels. In a statement, Fossielvrij Netherlands says the legal action was spurred by its conviction that KLM's marketing distracts from the need to reduce overall air traffic. This appears to be the first time an airline has been threatened with a legal process over alleged 'greenwashing', whereby a party seek to deflect attention from its environmental performance with gimmicks that result in little or no carbon reduction. A later questioner said the Fly Responsibly campaign had so enraged her that she left her job to work for free with Fossielvrij Netherlands in order to work towards a ban on all fossil-fuel advertising. She accused KLM of trying to "make it look like flying is normal and doesn’t contribute to the climate crisis", adding: "We want a ban against all airline advertising, just like tobacco." Elbers, having been urged to commit that KLM would not lobby against a ban on advertising by fossil-fuel companies, responded that KLM was "committed to reduce our environmental impact and we will continue to do so". Last month, the Dutch advertising watchdog ruled that KLM ads using terms such as "CO2ZERO" and "CO2-neutral" were misleading for consumers.

Turboprop manufacturer ATR is supporting expansion of performance-based navigation (PBN) procedures in Indonesia to safeguard operations at remote airfields. The EU is sponsoring a joint project between the Indonesian Directorate General of Civil Aviation and European Union Aviation Safety Agency to establish satellite-based approaches at additional airfields in the nation. ATR says it is contributing to the effort with provision of instructor and flight simulators at its facility in Singapore, to train flight instructors at customer airlines in the use of the technology. EASA executive director Patrick Ky recently visited the campus as part of the project, ATR notes. Where PBN is established, the technology enables pilots to fly previously visual approaches as instrumented procedures – under lateral and vertical guidance – with autopilot engaged. The airframer says PBN approaches have been published for Bajawa and Larantuka airfields, and that a third is in final stages for Atambua. Further locations are to be added to the list by year-end, ATR says. Chief executive Stefano Bortoli describes PBN as a "significant flight safety enhancement". He states: "We at ATR are working closely with EASA and other global authorities to promote its rollout. Everywhere in the world, our operators are providing essential connectivity to communities. Performance-based navigation ensures that these airlines meet the highest standards of operational excellence." ATR previously said that Asian operators serving airfields in remote locations and islands without much ground infrastructure are among its most relevant customers. Data shows that ATR operators in Indonesia include Trigana Air, Citilink Indonesia, Nam Air, Garuda Indonesia, Pelita Air Service and Wings Air. Some 81 ATRs are shown to be in service and another 32 in storage in the country. Indonesian operators have 24 ATRs on order.

Africa's largest carrier, Ethiopian Airlines, looks set to return to pre-pandemic levels of activity imminently as it continues to ramp up capacity. Data shows that the carrier's number of flights amounted to 97% of 2019 levels on 22 May, or 225 services, up from around 80% at the start of the year. By seats, the airline operated 42,283 spaces on 22 May, which remains down from over 51,000 before the pandemic began in 2019, indicating that it is on average operating smaller aircraft. Ethiopian Airlines is easily maintaining its position as Africa's largest carrier too. Since the start of 2022, it has operated over 24,160 services, for example, against the 17,465 of the next largest in Africa, Egyptair. It is followed by over 13,000 services at Safair and 8,800 at Royal Air Maroc. In March, Ethiopian Airlines Group disclosed the appointment of a new chief executive, following the sudden retirement of Tewolde GebreMariam on health grounds. Under the 11-year long leadership of GebreMariam, Ethiopian rose to being the largest airline in Africa by passenger numbers, generating revenues of $4 billion in 2019 and carrying 12 million passengers per year.