EU officials’ decision to uphold carbon-reducing regulations on airlines has been called “disappointing” by the IATA.

Airport news for Travel,Flights on 26/12/2011.

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The comments came via Tony Tyler, chief executive of the International Air Transport Association, which is representative of the vast majority of international airlines from around the world.

Tyler said in a press conference that the decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) was a disappointment because the emissions trading scheme (ETS) was “unilateral, market-distorting and extra-territorial”. He said that a global approach to tackling aviation carbon emissions would be a better option, citing that the ETS was “not the way forward”.

The ETS, which is set to go into force in 2012, charges heavy taxes on air carriers operating in EU airspace that exceed its carbon limitations. Moreover, companies failing to comply with its strict standards can face bans and large fines.

The initiative had been heavily opposed by several non-EU entities, including several US-based airlines, the National Airlines Council for Canada, the Air Transport Association of America as well as the IATA, which together had moved to challenge the EU ETS legally. The group claimed the scheme was in violation of the Chicago Convention, which prevents taxes on international aviation operations.

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