WIZZ AIR's chief executive Jozsef Varadi has branded carbon offsetting as "a bit of a joke", despite offering the scheme as part of the airline's sustainability programme.

While speaking in Milan at industry conference World Routes, Varadi called carbon offsetting "greenwashing," Euronews first reported.

When pressed on why the company was offering the offsetting scheme, Varadi looked confused and, after consulting with his chief of staff, said the solution was just not enough.

"Just imagine that you fly a crappy old aircraft, you pollute the world like hell, and then you [plant] two trees, and you think you are done?" he said.

In partnership with climate technology company Choose, the Budapest-based carrier launched the scheme in November 2020, allowing passengers to calculate their travel footprint and offset their journey by supporting climate projects around the world.

"We strive to be the greenest airline of choice as we work hard on continuously decreasing our environmental footprint," said Wizz Air's chief corporate officer Marion Geoffroy at the time.

(c) 2021 City A.M., source Newspaper