Leeds Bradford Airport: Labour MP Katie White suggests city could be testbed for new 'sustainable' flights

Katie White, who was elected earlier this year, told the YEP that she has met with aviation bosses to discuss the future of air travel.

Her constituency in the north west of the city takes in Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA), which she is hoping could lead the environmental charge by using ‘sustainable aviation fuel’ (SAF).

Produced from sustainable feedstocks, it is similar in chemistry to traditional fossil jet fuel but emits on average 70 per cent fewer greenhouse gas emissions compared with its alternative.

SAF forms part of the government’s strategy in decarbonising air travel, but it won’t be a quick fix, Katie conceded.

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“People like flying, and I get that entirely,” she said. “Across the region, we’re really fond of our Jet2 holidays, and that includes me. But we’re looking at how we can be part of the solution.”

Ms White said she has met with Vincent Hodder, the CEO of LBA, and Stephen Heapy, the head of Jet2, to discuss the subject.

She continued: “How can we look at innovating around low carbon aviation? The frontrunner is through using sustainable aviation fuel. Our airport in Leeds is small and doesn’t do long-haul flights. Short-haul flights are great for testing and innovating.”

Katie said that Leeds boasts scientists who can advise on solutions, like Professor Piers Forster of the University of Leeds, the Chair of the UK Climate Change Committee. She described an “interesting cocktail” of city-based experts and businesses capable of producing “something special”.

But there would be hurdles, she argued. “Sustainable aviation fuel involves using biomass and waste products, but we’d need to make sure it’s grown sustainably. It’s not straightforward.

“We have spoken about having the first UK-grown sustainable aviation fuel used at Leeds Bradford Airport. I’m really pleased that the attitude and the approach is around solving problems.”

It should come as no surprise that Ms White’s focus has so far been on green initiatives, having previously worked for environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth. Her career before politics saw her jointly lead the campaign for a law which later became the Climate Change Act, setting the UK’s target to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

She has also previously worked in the Department of Energy and Climate Change, advising the government ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2009. Four years later, she was awarded an OBE for services to climate change engagement.

In July, she was elected to represent Leeds North West with double the number of votes received by her Tory rival. She is currently the parliamentary private secretary to Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change.

Ms White said that she had been approached by residents about their concerns over night flights at LBA.

Campaigners from the Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport (GALBA) claimed last month that their monitoring showed LBA has broken the rules that limit the number of night flights over the summer for the third year running.

But a spokesperson for the airport insisted that bosses have operated in accordance with their interpretation of planning conditions, adding that an inquiry on the “correct legal interpretation” of those conditions is expected next March.

Leeds City Council said the total number of night flights has not yet been calculated by the authority and data will “require rigorous analysis”.

Responding to the concerns, Ms White said: “I have to listen to my residents and, at the moment, they do not want night flights. They want the rules that were in place to be respected. I understand that there is an ongoing process that I’m not involved with.”

The MP said that the focus of her talks with aviation bosses is decarbonisation. She continued: “We’re really worried about the impacts of climate change. We saw storms and floods recently, which are only set to get worse.

“We are very worried about that.

“But at the same time, there's a massive opportunity here.

“If we’re going to rewire the UK, then let’s do it and support businesses at the same time.”