Airlines call for deal to prevent EU trade war

Global airlines yesterday called for a UN-brokered deal to prevent a row over aviation emissions between China and the EU spilling into a trade war.

The call by the head of the International Air Transport Association comes amid signs the EU may soften a unilateral stance that also risks souring efforts to resolve Europe’s sovereign debt crisis with Chinese support.

Director general Tony Tyler said airlines had become wedged between conflicting domestic laws after China ordered its airlines not to join the EU’s compulsory market-based system for regulating airline emissions.