An increase in private jet flights contributed to a 46 per cent rise in the industry’s annual carbon dioxide emissions between 2019 and 2023, say climate scientists. New research published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment , analysed the habits of 18,655,789 private flights over four years to understand the role of private aviation in climate change . It found leisure trips to holiday destinations and major international sporting events had driven a surge in private flying.
Professor Stefan Gossling from Linnaeus University in Sweden, who led the research, said that many private flyers are now “using these aircraft as taxis”. Travel patterns showed that 18.9 per cent of private flights were short-haul, with 4.
7 per cent routinely flying leisure journeys less than 50km (31 miles) in distance. Almost half of all private flights travelled less than 500km (310 miles), said Prof Gossling. According to the data, in 2023, an estimated 15.
6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide was produced from private aviation. This represents around 1.8 per cent of the emissions from commercial air travel, with the most frequent and premium class fliers responsible for approximately half of all emissions.
Prof Gossling said that the growth in global emissions has been “driven by the wealthiest” – around 256,000 individuals, or 0.003 per cent of the adult population. Much of private aircraft use was found by the research team to be for leisure.
Private flights to European hol.