Just hot air? For all the Farnborough talk, zero-carbon flying remains years away

Record heat reaffirms urgency to decarbonise, but technical challenge is far greater for aviation than for most other parts of economy

The temperature of the runway hit 50C at the Farnborough airshow this week. Officials checked for melting asphalt between the aerospace industry showing off its wares, with flights by passenger jets including the Boeing 777X and Airbus A350, assorted military aircraft and flypasts by the Red Arrows display team.

The heat on Monday was yet another reminder, if one were needed, of the urgency of decarbonising aviation, responsible for about 3% of global emissions. The threat of climate crisis has taken the shine off an industry that was once the height of glamour, and zero-emissions flight presents a technical challenge far greater than decarbonising most other parts of the economy.