Give aviation time to come up with greener methods of propulsion

TO A reporter's question recently about passenger numbers, Lufthansa chief executive Carsten Spohr gave what would seem a curious response: He said his airline did not yet suffer a "Greta Effect" on demand.

But the so-called Greta Effect is in fact a real and imminent danger to commercial airlines in Europe and - in time - could be a risk as well for any carrier flying to the continent.

For the uninitiated, Greta Thunberg is the 16-year-old Swedish teen sensation who champions global climate consciousness, and has launched flygskam (or "flight shaming") to prod air passengers into opting for more eco-friendly modes of transport like electric trains. The movement has gained huge traction in northern Europe, where concerns for the climate loom large. Some supporters of the flygskam movement have even organised "flight strikes" near airports across the continent. In time, this movement could have a huge bearing on European civil aviation. While one can question whether it can at all gain currency in fast-growing air travel markets in Asia, it could impact Asian carriers which depend on European markets. So Mr Spohr's response perhaps wasn't all that unusual.