SOD OFF, SWAMPY: Slower airplanes ‘could cut fuel waste.’

After hours cooped up on a flight, most passengers are more than ready to be back on the tarmac. But they may soon be on board even longer thanks to a report by scientists at the University of Cambridge, which has recommended that planes should fly slower to burn less fuel and reduce emissions.

The report said that if aircraft flew 15 per cent slower, fuel burn would reduce by 5 to 7 per cent. This would add 50 minutes to a flight from London to New York, which is at present about seven hours.

The report concedes that “one drawback of reducing speed is the potential negative impact on airline productivity and passenger acceptance, especially for longer flights”, but says that flying slower is one of three “bold measures” the aviation industry could adopt to dramatically reduce fuel burn.

Evergreen: Environmentalists make good movie villains because they want to make your real life worse.