The past half century or so has been a triumph for the democratisation of air travel - opening up foreign countries and experiences and stimulating trade and tourism. Yet, there is an underlying sense that, at least in the Western hemisphere, the tide may be beginning to turn against unrestricted growth in air travel - much of it connected to the growing sense of environmental crisis. But what might have been dismissed in previous decades as just 'typical students' or the 'usual green protesters' now seems to be gathering momentum in other parts of society. The 'flight-shaming' eco-movement is spreading from Sweden's middle classes to other countries - encouraging people to take other forms of transport or not travel at all. Another aspect, perhaps underappreciated, is that, while electric cars, e-bikes, recharging stations and zero-emission vehicles have proliferated in cities - aviation's reliance on kerosene has become more and more visible. This is despite the fact that aviation has developed more fuel-efficient and quieter aeroplanes which are a far cry from the polluting, noisy aircraft of 50 years ago. Indeed, aviation has been long aware of these challenges and is already signed up to tough sustainable aviation targets such as ACARE 2050. Yet there is a sense that this message is not getting through and that incremental improvements are too slow for today's environmentally conscious consumers. It is no longer business as usual. Radical ideas, such as Airbus UK's Bird of Prey (see p 14) - which could offer up to a staggering 50% cut in fuel burn - are thus likely to be the only way in which aviation can square passengers' growing concern for the environment with guilt-free freedom to travel by air.
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