MAG to provide thousands of young people with Jet Zero education programme as part of commitment to a more sustainable future.

Thousands of young people will learn about the sustainable future of flying thanks to a new education programme announced today by Manchester Airports Group (MAG).

Starting in the next academic year, Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands Airports will deliver ‘Jet Zero Education’ lessons at each of their on-site Aerozones to dozens of schools from their surrounding areas.

Through the use of interactive technology, the curriculum will primarily focus on the role Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) will play in the decarbonisation of aviation.

Students will learn how SAF is produced, and the benefits it will bring in reducing aircraft emissions which will help meet the aviation industry’s target of net zero by 2050.

The announcement of the Jet Zero curriculum comes as the Government marks one year since the publication of its Jet Zero Strategy, which MAG supported by creating five Jet Zero Pledges, including Jet Zero Education, to support the industry’s decarbonisation targets.

Neil Robinson, MAG CSR and Airspace Change Director, said: “I am pleased to announce today that our Jet Zero Education programme will start at all our airports in the new academic year.

“Our Aerozones work with young people from an early age to educate and inspire them about the world of aviation and the opportunities it could present to them.

“This initiative is a valuable extension of that, teaching the future generation of aviation professionals about the importance of a transition to net zero air travel, and inspiring them about the role they can play in the delivering that.

“The Jet Zero Strategy continues to play an important part in bringing the sector together and, as today’s announcement shows, MAG is wholly committed to delivering on all of the pledges we made 12 months ago.

“As a founding member of the Jet Zero Council, we are proud to be working collaboratively with Government to drive the industry’s transition to net zero by 2050.”

MAG’s Aerozones have a long history of inspiring the next generation of future aviation professionals, catering for students from the ages of four to 18. In the last financial year, more than 6,500 students from across the UK visited an Aerozone and since 2010 they have collectively seen more than 50,000 students pass through their doors.

MAG believes that education from an early age plays an integral role in supporting sustainability in the aviation sector, and that by helping the next generation understand the importance of decarbonisation, future industry professionals will continue to drive the agenda.

Alongside its commitment to an education programme, the Group has also made progress on its other pledges across the year. The Jet Zero Technology competition is offering five years’ free landing fees to the first zero-emission aircraft operating transatlantic flights, and the Group has made significant progress with its Jet Zero Airspace pledge which saw London Stansted become the first large UK airport to pass the ‘Stage 2’ gateway of the Government’s airspace modernisation scheme, closely followed by Manchester Airport earlier this year.

MAG’s other pledges included Jet Zero Research, which will fund three PhD projects focused on aviation decarbonisation, and Jet Zero SAF which will create a financial incentive to encourage airlines to exceed the UK’s SAF mandate.

The Department for Transport has today also published a report on the industry’s progress across the Jet Zero agenda, detailing the work of the Jet Zero Council which was established in 2020.

MAG was a founding member of the Council and has over the course of the last 12 months continued to act as a leading industry voice in the aviation sector’s commitment to net zero by 2050.

As an airport operator, MAG understands the vital role it must play incentivising and facilitating low and zero emission technologies for the aviation sector, and continues to make progress in preparing its airports for transition to net zero.

Manchester Airport has established partnerships with Fulcrum BioEnergy UK and Hynet, which could make it the first UK airport with direct supplies of both SAF and Hydrogen respectively, with similar partnerships in progress at East Midlands and London Stansted.

MAG’s CSR Strategy ‘Working together for a brighter future’ is supporting the Group to make its own operations net zero by 2038, in line with the 2040 target set by the Government in the Jet Zero Strategy last year.