Starting next June, 50,000 trees a year will be left standing instead of being made into paper airline tickets, thanks to a new policy by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). IATA, whose members account for 94% of all flights worldwide, is phasing out paper tickets in favor of electronic ones starting June 1, 2008. The move will save $9 per passenger for those airlines that still use paper tickets – a few have already switched to exclusively e-ticketing. China will be the first country to completely get rid of paper tickets (but that doesn’t mean we’re ready to forgive them for the baiji).
Source: Airlines Body Sees End of Paper Tickets in 2008. Planet Ark, August 28, 2007. Photo by Matthias Sebulke.
Eve is a freelance writer and editor based in Vancouver, BC. She has worked for High Country News, Conservation magazine, Environmental Practice, Island Press, and several political clients. She has a Master's degree in Environmen...
