New research indicates that about 90% of UK domestic flights are taken by 2% of the population
Data from the DfT’s National Travel Survey 2019 and data from the Civil Aviation Authority’s 2018 passenger survey show that about 90% of domestic flights in the UK were taken by just 2% of English flyers in 2019. The data was obtained by the environmental group, Possible. They also found that the typical domestic flier earns twice the national average salary. In an average year, 90% of the UK population do not take any domestic flights at all. Leo Murray, director of innovation at Possible, speaking of the cut in domestic Air Passenger Duty, from April 2023, said: “This new analysis shows that this tax cut makes even less sense than first feared. Effectively all of the benefits will go to reward the tiny number of wealthy households responsible for almost all of the environmental damage from domestic flights, incentivising them to fly even more often, mostly on routes that could easily be travelled by train.” Many people support a ban on domestic flights, on routes where the train journey is easy and less than 4 to 6 hours. In any one year (pre Covid) about 50% of the UK population do not fly at all, and about 15% of the population take 70% of all flights. 1% of English residents take 20% of all overseas flights.
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FREQUENT FLYERS: 90% OF DOMESTIC FLIGHTS TAKEN BY 2% OF PEOPLE, ACCORDING TO NEW RESEARCH
Majority of Brits back banning UK flights where train could be used instead
By Helen Coffey (Independent)
9.11.2021
Some 90% of domestic flights in the UK were taken by just 2% of English flyers in 2019, new analysis of government data has revealed.
Climate charity Possible went through figures from the Department for Transport’s National Travel Survey 2019 and data from the Civil Aviation Authority’s 2018 passenger survey to get a clearer picture of the domestic aviation market, also discovering that the typical domestic flier earns twice the national average salary.
By contrast, around nine in 10 people in the UK never take any domestic flights at all.
It follows the chancellor Rishi Sunak’s announcement that Air Passenger Duty, the UK tax on flights, would be cut on domestic services from April 2023.
“We warned the government that cutting Air Passenger Duty on domestic flights while hosting a crucial climate conference would go down like a lead balloon,” said Leo Murray, director of innovation at Possible.
“This new analysis shows that this tax cut makes even less sense than first feared. Effectively all of the benefits will go to reward the tiny number of wealthy households responsible for almost all of the environmental damage from domestic flights, incentivising them to fly even more often, mostly on routes that could easily be travelled by train.”
The majority of the British public are in favour of aviation reforms, according to a poll of conducted on behalf of Possible during the first week of COP26.
Of the 2,000 people surveyed, 58% said they would support increasing tax on domestic flights and using the money to fund green transport alternatives.
Meanwhile, 54% of people supported a ban on domestic flights which could reasonably be substituted by a train – for example, the Glasgow-London journey that Boris Johnson chose to make by private jet during the climate conference.
Alethea Warrington, campaigner at Possible, said: “Our new polling finds that once again the British public are far ahead of the government when it comes to their appetite for meaningful climate action.
“What most of us need and want is an affordable, reliable train service so we can travel without harming the climate.
“The government should begin phasing out domestic flights for journeys which can be made by train, and use a frequent flyer levy to raise money to support green transport instead.”
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See earlier:
Elite Status: How a small minority around the world take an unfair share of flights.
By Possible
31.3.2021
Emissions from flying are threatening to crash the climate – but not everyone is equally responsible. Our latest report, ‘Elite Status: global inequalities in flying’, reveals that in almost all of the countries with the highest aviation emissions, a small minority of people take up a huge share of the flights.
The numbers
In the USA just 12% of people take a massive 66% of flights.
In France 50% of flights are taken by a tiny 2% of the population.
And here in the UK, a mere 15% of the population take 70% of all flights.
This pattern is repeated across the world, in countries including Canada, India, China and the Netherlands – as was the tendency for frequent flyers to have higher incomes. This means that wealthier people are disproportionately responsible for emissions that are already causing harm to people around the world, with impacts falling most heavily on poorer communities. Meanwhile, in almost all these countries, less than half the population fly each year.
For more information, download our full report here:
Read Full Elite Status Report
https://www.wearepossible.org/s/Elite-Status-Global-inequalities-in-flying.pdf
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FoI data from the DfT shows 1% of English residents take 20% of overseas flights
Global aviation (including domestic and international; passenger and freight) accounts for:
- 1.9% of greenhouse gas emissions (which includes all greenhouse gases, not only CO2)
- 2.5% of CO2 emissions
- 3.5% of ‘’ – a closer measure of its impact on warming.
The latter two numbers refer to 2018, and the first to 2016, the latest year for which such data are available.
https://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions-from-aviation
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“Aviation is responsible for 12% of CO2 emissions from all transport sources, compared to 74% from road transport.”
https://www.atag.org/facts-figures.html
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Aviation currently accounts for around 9.4% of UK territorial carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions – about 38.5 MtCO2 in 2019 out of around 410 Mt CO2.
See official Government (BEIS) statistics at 2019 UK Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Final Figures (publishing.service.gov.uk) and final-greenhouse-gas-emissions-tables-2019.xlsx (live.com), Table 1.1 and Table 6.1.
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Commercial aviation emitted 918m metric tons of carbon in 2019, about half of which came from frequent flyers.
The industry makes up about 2.5% of annual global emissions, but that figure will grow.
Passenger travel rose nearly 300% between 1990 and 2019 and the pre-pandemic increases in traffic outpaced emissions savings from improved aircraft and air traffic efficiencies.
Emissions could triple in the next three decades, according to some predictions, if aviation returns to its pre-Covid growth trajectory.
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