Green campaigners have complained to the advertising watchdog, wanting ads for a proposed expansion at Lurton Airport banned over concerns they are downplaying its environmental impact.
Eight green campaign groups have signed the complaint over ads seen on billboards across the London underground, on Meta and in the New Statesman magazine.
The Luton Airport ‘Luton Rising’ ads focus on measures which have been put in place to limit the environmental harms caused by the airport’s proposed expansion.
But the campaigners argue the ads are misleading and don’t give sufficient weight to the expansion’s overall environmental impact. They have complained to the ASA, hoping to get the ads banned.
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Hannah Lawrence, Stay Grounded, one of the groups which have complained, said: “Luton Airport’s greenwashing adverts justify its expansion on a totally false premise of environmental responsibility, using ‘green’ language and completely failing to mention the huge climate impacts of millions of additional flights.
“We hope the ASA will rule against these ads promptly, but verdicts against adverts that people have already seen is too little, too late. We need an urgent ban on airline advertising and greenwash alongside measures to reduce the number of flights that take off in a fair and equitable way.“
The airport plans to grow passenger numbers from 18 million to 32 million passengers each year, in plans backed by the government.
The airport also states it still aims to produce zero emissions from ground operations, but not flights, by 2030.
But some local groups say the ongoing expansion will cause local pollution – both noise and air – and increased carbon emissions.
Andrew Lambourne, from community group Luton And District Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise (LADACAN), said: “We’re disappointed that planning policy has so few teeth against mismanaged development of the kind which occurred here, when expansion ran well ahead of the known rate of aircraft noise and emissions reduction.”
Last year, it was revealed British Airways and Heathrow Airport partnered with the London Wildlife Trust to help protect five nature reserves and two country parks in Hillingdon, West London.
