On 26 September 2019, the event ‘Sustainable Pathway to Future Aviation’ organised by the City of Vantaa, Helsinki EU office and Airport Regions Conference took place in Brussels. The event focused on sustainability and the future of aviation growth in Finland and Europe in general. This event was held in the framework of Finland’s Presidency of the council to the EU.
The keynote speeches were given by the Mayor of the City of Vantaa Ritva Viljanen, Professor Max Hirsh from the University of Hong Kong, European Commission Aviation Policy Assistant Grégoire Le Comte and EUROCONTROL’s Head of Environment Andrew Watt. Additionally, a panel discussion on the myths of sustainable aviation took place and included discussions of ARC Director-General Sergi Alegre, Helsinki’s EU Office Head of Office Krista Taipale, CEO of Helsinki Metropolitan Smart & Clean Foundation Tiina Kähö and Vice-President Sustainability and Environment of Finavia Mikko Viinikainen. Finally, the event was concluded by Regional Mayor of Helsinki-Uusimaa Regional Council Ossi Savolainen.
Every keynote speech was followed by numerous questions from participants coming from the industry’s private and public sectors. The discussions between the speakers, panellists and the participants led the seminar to be a productive, fruitful and highly insightful discussion for all.
Thanks to the speakers, panellists, active participants and joint effort of the organisers, the seminar was successful and will hopefully lead to further discussions in the near future.