A380 ‘Superjumbo’ Unveiled

17th January, 2005

The A380 ‘superjumbo’ was unveiled in Paris on 18th Jan 05. It has been claimed to be the ‘cleanest and greenest’ aircraft yet. AEF questions this assertion.

The basis for the claim seems to be that the noise and emissions per passenger will be less than those of other aircraft. But this is no help to residents living near the airports concerned. Because of its huge size, the A380 will produce more noise and pollution in absolute terms than most other aircraft. It will therefore tend to increase rather than decrease impacts on local communities.